Playing God
by venusdragonz
Summary: Final Fantasy 2/4 my version of the ways things happen, this is an AU. Pretty much follows the game for the first little while...
1. The Beginning of the End

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 2/4  
  
  
  
Playing God  
  
Chapter 1: The Beginning or the End  
  
  
  
"Was there any resistance?" The King of Baron, the largest and most powerful nation in the world, looked down at his dark knight Cecil with hard, cold eyes.  
  
"No, your Majesty...The Mysidians didn't even raise a hand." Cecil looked from the King over to another man standing beside the throne, Baigan, who was smiling almost sickly with amusement, making Cecil sneer from underneath his helmet.  
  
"The Crystal, Cecil, where is the Crystal?" Baigan was almost jumping up and down, his eyes watching Cecil's hands as they went down to a small sack that the dark knight had with him. Cecil opened up the sack and carefully lifted out a gently shining light blue Crystal. Baigan almost immediately snatched the water Crystal out Cecil's hands and ran back up to the King's throne.  
  
"Here!" The King took the Crystal, both him and Baigan staring at it with hungry eyes, "That is all, Cecil."  
  
The dark knight stood there for a moment, the candlelight shining dimly off the armor that completely covered his body, not one inch of skin was visible, not even on his face. Cecil turned and headed to the door, but stopped, and looked back to the King.  
  
"Your Majesty?"  
  
Baigan looked rather annoyed with the small interruption, and whispered to the King to get Cecil out of the throne room in a hurry.  
  
"You are dismissed, dark knight."  
  
"But, your Majesty, why are you so insistant on collecting the Crystals? Were they not perfectly safe where they were?"  
  
The King glared at Cecil, clearly not impressed, "You dare question me?"  
  
Cecil took a step back. He had known the King since Cecil was a small child, the King helped to raise him, and showed him the way of the dark sword, but he had never once raised his voice at Cecil.  
  
"No..."  
  
The King of Baron stood, handing the Crystal over to Baigan, who craddled it like a baby, "You are now dismissed, Cecil, dismissed from your command of the Red Wings."  
  
Shock washed over Cecil's hidden features, "No! You can't...your Majesty, please."  
  
The large double doors to the throne room suddenly opened, and a young man walked in, then stood beside Cecil. He wore blue armor over his entire body, and a blue helmet that was in the shape of a dragon, covering the top half of his face, only his perfectly shaped jaw and mouth visible . No one has ever seen the rest of his face, for it was disgraceful to his order to remove the helmet in the presence of others.  
  
"Your Majesty..." His voice was slightly deep, "Cecil didn't mean..."  
  
He was cut off as the King turned his attention away from the two, recieving some more whispers from Baigan. The King looked over to Cecil and the man in dark blue, a small glare swept over him.  
  
"If you are so concerned about Cecil, then I have a mission for the both of you. Deliver this package..." Baigan walked over to Cecil and handed him a small brown box, "...to the Village Mist, and leave right away." The King turned his attention back to the water Crystal as Baigan grabbed both men by the shoulders and promptly showed them the way out. The two men stood on the outside of the throne room in silence until Cecil spoke.  
  
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Kain."  
  
Kain smirked lightly at his long time friend, "Don't worry about it, Cecil, anyway, you'll probably need my dragoon powers to help defeat that monster that hides in the Mist cave." Cecil smiled from behind his mask as the two of them turned away from the throne room doors, and headed down the long hallway.  
  
"Thanks, Kain."  
  
"Forget about it, now go, I'll meet you here tomorrow morning." The dragoon warrior turned and headed down a different hallway, one leading to a large training room. Cecil watched Kain leave, thankful that he was coming with him tomorrow, he would definitely need the strong dragoon's help. As Cecil walked towards his room, in one of the towers in the castle, he let his mind wonder, thinking about the Crystals, and how he was no longer commander of the only air force in the world. He failed to hear a sweet voice behind him, and only stopped walking when a soft hand touched the armor on his shoulder, "Cecil?"  
  
The dark knight turned around, almost bumping into the person behind him, "Rosa?"  
  
"Cecil, are you alright?" The young woman looked up into Cecil's dark purple eyes as he looked down into her pink eyes. He let his eyes wonder down her slim body encased in a short pink skirt, pink short sleeved shirt, white knee length boots and a flowing white cape. Her long blond hair was up in a pony tail that swayed lightly as she walked. He loved her, and she knew, she loved him too, and he knew, but because he wielded the dark sword, he was unable to express his feelings, he was unable to love.  
  
"I'm fine." He turned from her coldly, heading to a large staircase that would take him up the tower.  
  
"Cecil!"  
  
He stopped, though never looked back, ashamed of himself for hurting her so much.  
  
"I heard that you're leaving tomorrow for the Village Mist. I would die if something were to happen to you…" Rosa took a step forward, wanting to see his masked face, wanting to look into his eyes, to be able to see that he still held feelings for her.  
  
"Don't worry…Kain is coming with me…" With that he left, never looking back. Rosa stood there alone in the hallway, wanting to cry at Cecil's coldness, but knew better. She turned and walked out of the castle, head held high as she returned home to her mother.  
  
Cecil walked briskly to his room, anxious to finally get a good nights sleep, but was once again interrupted by someone speaking to him. An older man, in his mid-30's or so, came down the stairs that Cecil was about to ascend.  
  
"Hey!! Cecil! Long time no see, how are things going? How's Rosa?" The man had on a funny looking hat, almost like a helmet, and a pair of goggles. His beard wrapped all the way around his head, even creating a mustache, he also had dark brown hair down to just about the top of his shoulders. Cid, the master engineer, creater of the airships, grabbed Cecil and gave him a big bear hug. When released, Cecil had a wait a few seconds to gather some air before he was able to utter a single word.  
  
"Rosa's fine…as for me…the King dismissed me from my Red Wings." He stepped down the last few steps, allowing Cid to come down.  
  
Since Cid wasn't expecting such shocking news, he missed the next step and fell down the remaining stairs, landing very ungracefully near Cecil's feet, "Are you serious? What was he thinking?" The older man instantly got up, seeming to be unfased by the small fall, "I've got to go have a word with that so-called-King. First he works me like a slave, I barely get to see my daughter anymore, and now…now he's saying that you're no longer the Commander of MY airships!!" Without even letting Cecil get a small word in, Cid continued to ramble on and on to himself as he walked away from Cecil, vanishing further into the castle.   
  
A small sigh escaped Cecil as he finally made it up to his room, practically collapsing upon his bed, still in his armor. Just as the dark knight was about to fall asleep, Rosa was suddenly in his room.  
  
"Cecil?"  
  
He turned over on his bed, facing the wall, facing away from her.  
  
"What's wrong, Cecil, you're acting even more distant than usual?" She inched slightly closer to his bed, now looking down at him.  
  
"The King relieved me as my duty as the Commander of the Red Wings…that's why I have to go to the Village Mist tomorrow. Kain was trying to stick up for me, but the King just sent him along with me."  
  
"Oh, Cecil, I'm sorry to hear that." She placed her hand down upon his armored shoulder, but was forced to pull it away when the dark knight tried to shrink away from her touch. Rosa felt a single tear fall down her cheek just before she turned from him and ran out of his room. Cecil merely sighed, and finally fell asleep, armor and all.   
  
  
  
Kain smirked lightly as he finally saw Cecil walking slowly towards him.  
  
"Morning, Cecil."   
  
A small sigh escaped the dark Knight as he looked down slightly at Kain, his dark purple eyes tired.  
  
"Same to you, Kain. Ready?"  
  
Kain eyed Cecil for a minute, before he just shrugged and turned towards the front doors of the large castle of Baron. The two guards at the door, nodded lightly to the dragoon and dark knight as they opened the large doors, allowing them to leave. Cecil and Kain turned around, looking at the castle that has been their home for many longs years one last time. They watched the doors as they clanged shut, though both were surprised when they heard the lock click.  
  
"Well…" Cecil's tone sounded slightly sad yet relieved, "There's no turning back now." He glanced over at Kain, who only nodded in agreement. They looked into each others eyes, strangly bright, though icy blue looked into oddly dark, yet seemingly bright purple eyes.  
  
"Don't worry, Cecil, they can't keep you locked out forever." Kain looked up into the sky, Cecil's gaze following his and locking onto a bright red ship flying overhead, "You'll be back in the sky in no time."  
  
Cecil looked down at the ground, then to the path that lay ahead, "Maybe…"  
  
This just caused Kain to smirk, then the dragoon started to walk, leaving Cecil standing there, "Come on, Cecil, remember how many times I've been kicked out of the castle, and they still let me come back."  
  
Cecil smiled slightly, feeling better already.  
  
He ran after Kain, then they walked on in silence until the mouth of the Mist Cave was before them, both dark knight and dragoon stopping at the entrance.  
  
"Kain, why do you suppose his Majesty sent us here?" Cecil unsheathed the long sword at his side, the blade sharp and dark grey.  
  
"I'm not sure, but I guess we'll find out when we get to the village…" Kain reached for the spear at his side. It was oddly short, about the size of a small wooden stake, but as soon as it was unclipped from Kain's belt, the spear grew until it was longer than Kain was tall, "Come on, lets go."  
  
As soon as the two of them entered the cave, they were surrounded by dense fog.  
  
"You're pretty brave for someone that's only 15." Though Cecil was only 3 years older than his dragoon companion, he was not as brave or as strong as Kain.  
  
"And you're quite a wuss for someone who wields the dark sword." Kain's laughter echoed lightly in the eerie cave as Kain pushed Cecil onward. When they were not even 10ft in, a cold, yet soft feminen voice was heard.  
  
"Leave now!"  
  
Cecil and Kain immediately stopped.  
  
"Who's there?" They both called out, but no answer was returned to them. The eerie silence returned as the fog suddenly thickened. Seeming unfased, they somehow made their way through the cave and just as they were a few feet from the exit, that same feminen voice rang out.  
  
"One's from Baron, why are you here?"  
  
Cecil grasped his sword in both hands, and took a battle stance, knowing that a battle was about to take place, "We need to go to the Village Mist…by orders of the King of Baron."  
  
The Mist filling the cave seemed to fill only the air around the two men now.  
  
"Cecil…" Kain brought his spear up in front of his body, ready to attack. Once again the female voice spoke out to them, only this was the last time.  
  
"You bring evil and destruction!" Suddenly, the mist gathered just in front of Cecil and Kain, blocking the exit. It slowly began to form into the shape of a dragon, a very real dragon. The misty dragon bellowed loudly, a white fog shooting out from its mouth.  
  
"Look out!" Cecil yelled as he and Kain suddenly dived to the side, narrowly escaping the attack.  
  
"We have to attack!" Kain pulled himself off the ground and lunged at the dragon with his spear, sticking it right in the neck. He immediately jumped back as the dragon took a swipe at him with its tail. Just as Cecil was about to attack, the dragon slowly disappeared back into just the mist form, swirling about the Dark Knight and Dragoon.  
  
"Shit." Cecil swiped his sword through the mist, only to see that nothing happened. There was only the soft sound of Cecil's dark sword wizzing through the air. He was about to resheath his sword when he looked at Kain, still ready to battle, a serious frown upon his lips.  
  
"Kain?"  
  
Suddenly all was clear. Kain's head shot up, "Cecil!"  
  
Cecil turned his head to gaze up at the misty dragon looming above him. The dragon opened its massive jaws and brought its head down, bellowing, white fog appearing in the back of its mouth. Cecil immediately took action and dived into the dragon, ramming his sword deep into its chest. The dragon immediately pulled away and back. It threw its head up into the air, bellowing loudly in pain.  
  
"Kain! Jump!" Cecil took a few steps back as Kain suddenly jumped into the air. Since Kain was a Dragoon, he had the ability to launch himself high into the air, and land hard on his enemies. A few seconds later, Kain felw down fast, head first, spear held tightly in both hands and out in front of his body. He came down hard, impaling his spear right through the back of the dragon. His spear went in so hard that it actually came out of the dragon's stomach and into the ground. Kain stood on the back of the dragon, holding the hangle of his spear as the dragon let out one last roar, then collapsed, and suddenly disappeared. Cecil sheathed his sword at his left hip as he he watched Kain pull his spear out of the ground and reclipped it to his belt. The Dark Knight glanced around the cave briefly. The only evidence that a fight ever occurred was the pool of blood on the uneven floor of the cave and a few small, light strands of mist floating near the blood. Cecil and Kain glanced at each other, nodded, then silently left the cave. They continued to walk in silence, the only sounds were those of birds chirping, grass crunching softly under their boots, and the soft rustle of leaves as a breeze blew through the trees. All was peaceful until they entered the village. The package that had been entrusted to Cecil by the King of Baron opened automatically the second the tip of the Dark Knight's steel toed boots went across the border of the village. Cecil immediately dropped the brown box on the ground as it was suddenly open and burning hot. Several large flame monsters appeared, then proceeded to swiftly ignite the village aflame as Cecil and Kain stood helplessly in shock. Within an impossibly short amount of time, nothing was left except for ashes and the echoes of screams.  
  
"Mommy!"  
  
Cecil and Kain, even though they destroyed the village, ran off to help a screaming child sitting next to the still form of a young woman. The child looked up at Cecil and Kain with tear filled eyes as they stopped nearby. Kain walked over to what appeared to be the child's mother. He gently set his fingers upon her neck, checking for a pulse. Nothing. Cecil crouched by the child, a young girl, not even older than 10.  
  
"What happened to your mother?" He looked over at the body, not a scratch or single burn mark was upon her physical form. She was totally unharmed, yet as dead as could be. The young girl grabbed Cecil's arm, bringing his attention back to her.  
  
"When my mom's dragon fell, so did my mom!"  
  
"Dragon?"  
  
"Cecil…"  
  
Both Cecil and Kain stood as the Dragoon motion for the Dark Knight to move closer to him, "I've heard of this village before. The people that live here where known as Callers. They had the ability to summon monsters from another plain, to come to their aid…"  
  
Cecil interrupted Kain as he looked back to the little girl, who was watching them with wide green eyes, "Kain, that dragon…when we defeated it, we defeated her mother…"  
  
Kain only nodded and also looked at the girl, "His Majesty sent us here to destroy the race of Callers. This girl is not the last survivor."  
  
The young girl stood, a horrified expression upon her small features, "You…you killed…my mother?"  
  
Kain took a step towards her, though spoke to Cecil, "We're going to have to kill her too, Cecil."   
  
"What?!" The Dark Knight was immediately in front of Kain, blocking his access to the girl, "Kain, she's just a child!"  
  
"Did you forget why we're here? We were ordered to destroy this village and everybody in it. His Majesty…"  
  
"Oh fuck that!" Cecil intrupted, "I'm no longer following orders!" His voice rose slightly, mild anger burned in his eyes, "I will exterminate the enemy, but I refuse to murder innocent people. If you try to interfere, I will stop you."  
  
For a few moments, Cecil and Kain merely stared into each others eyes until the Dragoon suddenly smirked, "Well, Cecil, I won't let you do it alone. You'll need my help if you're going against the strongest nation in the world."  
  
This made the Dark Knight smile behind his dark mask, "Thanks Kain."  
  
Kain now stood beside Cecil, the two of them looked at the silent girl, "What about her?"  
  
"How about we take her with us? Or at least to a safer village."  
  
Kain merely shrugged, not really caring. Cecil took that as a yes and moved closer to the young child, "Look, its not safe here, come with us, ok?"  
  
The girl glared at Cecil and Kain, anger burning in her green eyes, "No! I hate you! Stay away from me!" She took a few steps back, then raised her hands into the air. Bright red and green energy suddenly flowed from her hands as she yelled a single word, "Titan!!"  
  
The air around the three people suddenly became heavier as a shadowed blur appeared out of nowhere. When the shape solidified, and became clear, a giant half man, half monster, stood next to the girl. He raised one of his arms, summoning all the power he possessed, then slammed his fist hard into the ground. As soon as he pulled his fist out the ground, he disappeared. The force of his punch still vibrated through the ground, opening large cracks everywhere. Earthquake was Titan's specialty, his strongest attack, so strong, that a large, very deep crack opened up right beneath the only 3 people around. Cecil jumped to the side, but Kain and the girl were not so fortunate. They both fell. Kain lept towards the girl and caught her in his arms, then landed lightly upon a small ledge of rock. He looked up, only to see Cecil looking down into the crack.  
  
"Kain!" Cecil peered down at this best friend, who was very far down into the crack.  
  
"I'm fine." Kain yelled up as he jumped onto a slightly bigger ledge, the one he had just occupied, crumbled to dust.  
  
"The girl?"  
  
"Out cold." Kain relpied then once gain jumped to another ledge, slowly making his way up. Suddenly, another quake rocked the ground, causing Kain to lose his footing. Just before he fell, he jumped straight into the air, using his Dragoon powers to aid him. However, he came in several feet short of the top, so Kain decided that since he couldn't save his own life, he should at least save the girl. With a small heave, Kain tossed the girl up to the unsuspecting Cecil. Cecil caught the girl in his strong amrs, then looked back over the edge of the crack to see Kain fall back into it. This time there was no ledge for the Dragoon to land on.  
  
"NO! KAIN!!"  
  
But Kain was gone. 


	2. A Stolen Love

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 2/4  
  
  
  
Playing God  
  
Chapter 2: A Stolen Love  
  
  
  
All Cecil could do was stand there in shock, stand beside the huge crack that just ate his best friend. He had known Kain since he was 5, they had planned on growing old and dying together, but now...now Kain was gone forever. Cecil looked down at the young girl within his arms, thankfully still asleep. He turned and started to head to the nearest village. He glanced back the ruined village of Mist, the village of death, only once, then with a sigh continued on. Awhile later, Cecil finally entered the small village named Kaipo. He immediately went to the inn, wanting to be able to help the girl with him. He gently set her down upon one of the comfy beds, tucked the blankets in around her, then left to find a glass of water, incase she was thirsty when she awoke. Cecil stood at the counter in the front of the inn, taking a small glass of water from the innkeeper. He was about to return to his room when the front door opened. The Dark Knight slowly turned his head to the door, his right hand on the handle of his sword, expecting trouble, though was surprised at what he saw. Rose walked through the door, a quiver of arrows upon her back, over her long white cape, and a bow in her hand. Cecil nearly dropped his water as Rose gtlanced around the inn, her pink eyes finally resting upon the man she loved.  
  
"Cecil!" She immediately ran to him, throwing herself into his arms, hugging herself to him as tightly as possible, "Oh, Cecil...I was so worried! What happened?"  
  
The Dark Knight smiled lightly as he let go of Rose, grabbed her hand and led her to his room. When they walked through the door, the girl that used to be unconscious and laying down, was now sitting up and crying. Rose immediately dropped her bow on the floor and shed off her quiver, then sat down beside the girl, wrapping her arms around her. The young girl sand into Rosa's embrace, eventually quieting down. Rosa ran one gentle hand through the girl's long green hair, marvelling at the bright color.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
The young girl looked up into Rosa's friendly pink eyes, almost immediately trusting her, though heasitated slightly.  
  
"Rydia."  
  
"Well, Rydia, my name is Rosa and..." She raised one hand and guestured to Cecil, "His name is Cecil."  
  
Rydia immediately tried to shrink away, but only succeeded in burying her head in Rosa's shoulder. This made the young blond haired woman chuckle softly.  
  
"Don't worry. He may have scary looking armor, but he's a really nice guy."  
  
Rydia shook her head lighlty and started to cry once again, "He and that other guy killed my mom!"  
  
"Other guy?" Rosa had totally forgotten about Kain, "Oh! You mean Kain..." Her eyes darked around, searching for him, "Where is he?" She looked to Cecil.  
  
"I'll explain everything when she's asleep." The Dark Knight walked over to the other bed, and with a sighe, sat down upon it heavilly. This made Rosa worry. She continued to hold Rydia in her arms until the young girl finally fell asleep. Rosa gently lay her back down upon the bed, drew the covers up and tucked them in. She then st down on the other bed beside Cecil, wanting answers. Rosa frowned softly, waiting. Cecil sighed lightly, then gently grabbed Rosa's hand.  
  
"As you know, Kain and I went to the Village Mist. We fought a dragon and killed it, but as soon as we entered the village, the package I had opened, unleasing monters. They burned the place to the ground, killed everybody. Then we found Rydia by her mother. The villagers were Callers and when we killed that dragon, we also killed her mother. Rydia then summoned her own monters, who created an earthquake and Kain...he...he saved Rydia's life, but...wasn't able to save his own."  
  
Rosa just stared at Cecil in shock. She too had known Kain since he was 5.  
  
"He...can't be...oh Cecil...no!"  
  
Thats when tears strayed from her pink eyes, down her soft cheeks, "Kain!"  
  
Cecil grabbed Rosa and pulled her to him, comforting not only her, but himself as well.  
  
  
  
Hours later, Rydia slowly woke up. When she opened her green eyes to unfamilar surroundings, the young girl instantly sat up and screamed. The loud sound instantly woke both Cecil and Rosa, who had fallen asleep in each others arms. As soon as both were up, Rosa went over to Rydia and managed to calm her down, while Cecil pondered their next course of action. He paced back and forth lighlty, both Rosa and Rydia had their eyes on him.  
  
"Rosa, I want you to go home."  
  
That statement thoroughly outraged the young woman. She stood angerly, placing her hands upon her hips.  
  
"No! I will not, Cecil."  
  
"Its too dangerous for you to come with me."  
  
"You'll need me! I'm a White Wizard, I can help you...besides, what does Rydia think about all this, huh?"  
  
Both young adults turned to Rydia, who just looked at them with wide eyes.  
  
"Ok, I know she doesn't trust me, Rosa, but I can protect her. It will hard if I have to protect both of you, I'm only one Knight!"  
  
Just as Rosa was about to voice her opinion, Rydia jumped off her bed, stormed over to Cecil and stood infront of him, frowning, with her amrs crossed over her chest.  
  
"Who says I need you to protect me? I am a Caller, I can take care of myself!"  
  
Cecil looked down at the girl infront of him, amusement and anger mixing in his dark purple eyes.  
  
"Just like back at your village? When you nearly got yourself killed?  
  
"Well...you killed my mom!"  
  
"And you killed my best friend!"  
  
"Enough!" Rosa was instantly between them, "You're acting like children!"  
  
"Hey! I am a child!"  
  
Rosa looked down at Rydia and smiled brightly, which made Rydia smile in return.  
  
"Enough about that, tell me, Rydia, can you use other magic besides summoning?"  
  
The young green haired girl grinned and nodded her head, "I can use Black and White."  
  
The young White Wizard with blond hair turned to Cecil and flashed him a triumphant filled grin.  
  
"See! You'll need us to protect you! You have no magical ability, Cecil, you'll need our poweres!"  
  
Rosa crossed her arms over her chest, still grinning. Their eyes locked onto each others, staring, until Cecil was the first to look away, the first to back down. The Dark Knight sighed in defeat, glanced from one woman to the next, then sighed again.  
  
"Fine." He turned from them and slowly opened the door, almost heasitating as if changing his mind, but not quite, "We'll head to Damcyan, the King of Baron is surely after all the Crystals."  
  
The two woman looked to each other and grinned behind Cecil's back, before the three of them headed to the Damcyan Castle.  
  
  
  
When the small group of three were barely 50ft away from the front entrance of Damcyan, a loud rumbling was heard from above. What Cecil saw when he looked to the sky, nearly took his breath away. Half a dozen red airships flew over the castle. The Red Wings. Rosa gasped lighlty, though the sound was lost in the roar of the engines.  
  
"Cecil..." She started, "Why do you think..." Her question was answered even before she had finished asking it, however, it wasn't Cecil who answered. As the six airships flew over the castle, each dropped bombs, decimating Damcyan in only a few seconds.  
  
"Come on! Hurry!" Cecil yelled as he, Rosa and Rydia ran to the castle. They were too late, the airships already gone. Nothing was left of Damcyan, only a large pile of crushed stones that used to be the castle's walls. The three of them poked about in the rubble, hoping to find survivors, or anything for that matter.  
  
"The Crystal is either gone or was destroyed in the bombing." Rosa stated calmly as she sat down on a large stone that used to belong to the throne room wall.  
  
Rydia sat down by Rosa as the blond haired woman placed her bow by her feet.  
  
"Why is the King collecting the Crystals?"  
  
Cecil, who had been crouching down by a broken pot, the clay pieces still warm to the touch, sighed as he stood and faced the two girls.  
  
"I wish I knew." He closed his dark purple eyes for a moment as he thought things out, "We should head to the next Crystal. They'll take the last one back to Baron first. We should be able to get there before them."  
  
He opened his eyes and looked to Rosa, who nodded her head in agreement.  
  
"But where is the next one located?"  
  
Cecil shook his head to the side, neither of them knew. That's when Rydia suddenly jumped up, having been silent through the entire conversation.  
  
"I know! I know! Its in Faboul! Right?"  
  
Cecil and Rosa glanced at the young child, both amazed that she knew such a thing. The Dark Knight nodded to Rydia as Rosa stood, bow in hand.  
  
"Lets go."  
  
  
  
The trio walked on in silence, each person pondering many different questions to which they seeked answers, though not one of them was spoken. The silence was broken as they reached the mountain pass in which they had to travel in order to reach Faboul. However, the entrance was blocked by a thick wall of ice. Rosa walked up to the ice wall and placed a slender hand upon it. She then turned to Rydia and smiled lightly.  
  
"Rydia, use a fire spell, and melt the ice, then we can continue."  
  
The green haired girl looked down to the ground, eyes shut tightly as she held back tears.  
  
"I...can't."  
  
Cecil glanced at Rydia momentarily before his gaze also attached to the ground.  
  
"I think she's scared of fire. After all, her entire village was destroyed by it."  
  
Rosa walked over to Rydia and embraced the 10 year old girl in a tight hug.  
  
"Poor girl, I understand...but..." She released Rydia and knelt down infront of her, looking the girl straight in her green eyes, "If we can't get by this ice, Faboul might be destroyed...many people will die."  
  
Rydia blinked a few times as Rosa stood up and walked over to Cecil, leaving the young girl to her thoughts. Her green eyes were upon the large wall of ice before her. The wall glittered slightly in the sunlight, seeming to sparkle, challenging her. Rydia glanced over to Cecil and Rosa, the two were close together, talking quietly, probably thinking of another way to Faboul. Her eyes once again glued to the ice wall as she took a small step towards it. Rydia stood a few short feet away from the wall, closed her eyes and outstretched her hands before her. A look of pure concentration washed over her features, there was no way she was going to let the others down, especially Rosa. Sure, she trusted Cecil now, but she still like Rosa better than the Dark Knight. A small, light green glow gently started to form around the young girl's hands. Both Cecil and Rosa turned their attention to Rydia as fire suddenly appeared and melted the huge wall of ice. The fire soon disappeared as suddenly as it started, though Rydia still stood there, eyes closed, hands out infront her. Only when Cecil and Rosa each placed a hand on her shoulders, did she snap out of it. Rydia looked up at them and grinned brightly.  
  
"Good job." Even though she couldn't see it, Rydia could tell that the Dark Knight was smiling.  
  
"I knew you could do it." Rosa smiled brightly at the girl with green hair, proud of her for overcoming her fear of fire.  
  
Suddenly, Rydia took off running down the mountain path, still grinning as she looked back to Cecil and Rosa, eyeing her with wonder.  
  
"Come on, slowpokes! We gotta hurry to Faboul!"  
  
The Dark Knight and White Wizard glanced at each other, shrugged, then took off after the girl. After a short time, Cecil and Rosa slowed to a walk as Rydia ran on ahead. Soon, the young green eyed girl disappeared over a hill. Silence followed. There were no sounds of child size feet hitting the hard dirt path. Suddenly, a shout floated to Cecil and Rosa on the wind, causing them to run over the hill. Infront of Rydia stood a man with brown hair, and brown eyes, looking down at the girl with curiousity. Cecil almost drew his sword, but Rosa placed her hand on Cecil's, stopping him. She looked the stranger up and down, causing Cecil to scowl lightly behind his mask, though the young woman smiled as she regonized his attire.  
  
"You're from Faboul!"  
  
The man looked at the young woman and smiled.  
  
"Indeed, I am." He bowed lightly. He was wearing red pants that were held up by a yellow sash. Upon each of his arms were silver armbands, characteristic of Karate Masters.  
  
"I am know as Yang, Master of Karate."  
  
Cecil was about to introduce the small group, when Rydia took it upon herself to do so.  
  
"Hi! My name's Rydia, I'm a Caller...and that's Cecil..." One small finger was thrust out at Cecil, "He's a Dark Knight, pretty cool, huh?...and that's Rosa..." The thrust out finger turned to Rosa, "She's White Wizard, and pretty good with a bow too."  
  
Yang nodded lightly to each of them, "Its a pleasure to meet you all."  
  
"Sorry to cut the introductions short..." Cecil said quietly, looking to each person, "...But we have to get to Faboul immediately."  
  
The small, barely noticable, trace of urgency in the young Dark Knight's voice, made Yang turn very serious.  
  
"Is there a problem at the Castle? Is his Majesty in danger?"  
  
"The whole world is in danger!" Rydia blurted out.  
  
"The King of Baron is collecting the Crystals, but we don't know why so..." Rosa started saying, but Cecil finshed for her, "We must hurry!"  
  
Yang didn't give it a moments thought, he immeidately turned from the group and started to run down the mountain, running to the Kingdom of Faboul, the keeper of the Crystal of Wind. Cecil, Rosa, and Rydia were instantly behind him.  
  
  
  
They arrived only moments before the Red Wings, though Cecil and Rosa were surprised as monsters exited the airships.  
  
"Since when were monsters soldiers of Baron?" Rosa stood bow in hand, arrow notched, ready.  
  
Cecil suddenly turned to her, eyeing her then Rydia.  
  
"Both of you get out of here, I don't want you to get hurt!"  
  
Rydia nodded to Cecil, more than willing to go. Rosa, on the other hand, was a little stunned.  
  
"No, Cecil..."  
  
"Please...go!"  
  
Rosa turned, about to leave, when she ran to Cecil. He captured her in his arms, the two of them holding each other tightly.  
  
"Don't worry..." He said quietly, "Yang and I will retreat to the Crystal room, come there when its safe."  
  
Rosa pulled back slighlty, looking into Cecil's dark purple eyes with bright pink ones. She removed her hands from his body and gently grabbed the base of his helmet, slowly lifting it up. Once his mouth was exposed, Rosa firmly placed her lips on his, kissing Cecil passionately though quickly. The two soon pulled apart and with no words said, both took off in different directions, Rosa following Rydia, and Cecil following Yang. The two male warriors soon found themselves in the Crystal room, with the door locked, though both knew it would not stay locked for long. Cecil stood there, dark sword clasped in both hands while Yang had taken a battle stance, fists clenched tightly infront of his body. Both sets of eyes watched the door as a hand suddenly punched right through the door where the door handle was. Cecil watched with wide eyes as the hand, clad in a blue metal glove, withdrew only to slam a booted foot onto the door, throwing it wide open. A figure walked into the paritally lit Crystal room, the light sparkle from the Wind Crystal, illuminated the man's armor. His entire body was covered with blue armor. He wore a blue mask in the shape of a dragon, only his mouth and jaw visible. He stopped several feet infront of Cecil and Yang, arms crossed over his muscular chest as a small smirk found its way to his lips. Cecil resheathed his sword, almost fumbling with it in dumbfounded amazement.  
  
"Kain!" The Dark Knight almost rushed forward, wanting to hug Kain, but knew that the Dragoon despized physical contact, "You're alive!"  
  
"That I am, Cecil..." Kain's voice was low, though somehow sounded even deeper.  
  
"Kain, I'm so glad you're alright, but we'll talk about that later. You have to fight with us!" Cecil took a step towards his best friend, though suddenly noticed that Kain had his eyes closed.  
  
"Sure, I'll fight, Cecil..." Kain's eyes snapped open, the usually cold, blue orbs burned red, "But against you."  
  
Cecil took a step back as Kain suddenly launched himself foward while reaching one hand behind his back, swiftly unclipping a large diamond sword that was hidden from view. Just as Cecil's hand rested on the handle of his dark sword, did the blade of Kain's sword come to rest on Cecil's hand. Cecil's dark eyes looked from his hand and up into the red eyes of his...enemy.  
  
"Kain, why...why are you helping Baron?"  
  
"Don't be stupid, Cecil. I would never help Baron, the King has hated me since the first day I was there."  
  
"Then why are you fighting me...you are collecting the Crystal's now, right?"  
  
"Yes, but not for that sorry excuse for a King. Do you honestly think he was smart enough to come up with this plan by himself?"  
  
"You don't mean..." Cecil was cut off as a sweet voice called out.  
  
"Kain!"  
  
Kain turned slightly, facing a young woman with blond hair and pink eyes.  
  
"Rosa?"  
  
"Kain, what are you doing?" Rosa slowly started to advance on her long time friend.  
  
"Stop!" Kain yelled as he swiftly moved the blade of his sword so it rested against Cecil's throat. The Dark Knight sand to his knees, wondering if his 18 years of life were over. No one noticed a man dressed entirely in black, walk through the door behind Rosa. Not one inch of his skin visible, not even his hair, or eyes. Every part of him was covered in black.  
  
"Kain." His voice wasn't as deep as Kain's though it sounded very dark and evil. He soon had the attention of everyone in the room, "Get the Crystal." His dark tone was commanding, final.  
  
As Kain released his temporary hold on Cecil's life, the Dark Knight stood and watched his friend take that which he was trying to protect. His attention turned back to the man in black.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
The man took a step closer as Kain's armored hand touched the Crystal.  
  
"I am Golbez, soon to be ruler of this pathetic world."  
  
Kain grabbed the Crystal and was about to head back to Golbez when both Cecil and Yang were infront of him. Kain sighed irritation, about to fight his way through when Golbez raised his hand. A very large bolt of lightning suddenly struck inbetween Cecil and Yang, throwing them both in different directions.  
  
"Cecil!" Rosa was about to run to her fallen warrior when Kain's words stopped her in her tracks.  
  
"Stop wasting your time on him, you're too good to be with a loser like that."  
  
Golbez raised an eyebrow slightly, then smirked as he suddenly leaned forward and smacked Rosa on the back of the neck, instantly rendering her unconscious. Golbez caught the young woman as she began to crumple to her knees, then turned and started to leave, Rosa in his arms.  
  
"Come, Kain."  
  
"Yes, sir." The Dragoon looked down at Cecil as the Dark Knight struggled to his knees, "You had a narrow escape, Cecil." With that Kain suddenly punched Cecil hard in the jaw and as Cecil's body once again hit the cold floor, he couldn't help but let out one last strangled word.  
  
"Rosa..." 


	3. Trustworthy Foe or Untrustworythy Friend

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 2/4  
  
Playing God  
  
Chapter 3: Trustworthy Foe or Untrustworthy Friend  
  
Cecil woke with a spinning head. He slowly sat up and realized that he had no idea where he was. He reached a hand up and placed it upon the smooth skin of his jaw, rubbing it slowly, trying to make the dull ache disappear. As he looked around his surroundings, Cecil noticed his helmet on a small table near the bed he was currently occupying. The black armor had a T-shaped opening in the front, allowing the Knight to see and breathe. One large, black horn decorated each side of the helmet and as Cecil picked it up, he realized how ugly the thing was. While examining his helmet, Cecil found a large dent on the jaw, right where Kain had hit him.   
  
'Kain...' He thought sadly, 'How could you be working with that madman? It must not be of your own will...' A small sigh escaped the Dark Knight, 'And since when have you been able to wield a sword? You've hated them since I've known you...you've never used one before...why now?'  
  
Cecil's thoughts were interrupted as the door suddenly burst open, Rydia running into the room as Yang merely stood by the door. The green haired girl ran straight to Cecil and jumped on him, hugging him tightly.  
  
"I'm glad you're ok, Cecil...you are ok, aren't you?" Rydia's green eyes stared up into Cecil's dark purple orbs, slightly concerned.   
  
"I'm fine." The Dark Knight smiled lightly as he removed Rydia off of him and placed her next to him. The two of them sat quietly on the bed as Yang finally entered the room and sat down in the chair beside the bed. His face was solemn as he looked at the Dark helmet by Cecil's feet, then to the Dark Knight himself.  
  
"There's no trace of Rosa anywhere...the entire Kingdom was searched, even areas near Faboul, but nothing turned up. We now assume they got on one of the airships..."  
  
"Then we'll head to Baron. Cid, the creator of airships, will surely help us. He's like a father to Rose, and has never trusted the King."  
  
Yang nodded and stood, heading for the door, "I will ask his Majesty for a ship, then we will sail tomorrow."  
  
"Thanks, Yang."  
  
Yang smiled at the Knight, then left, closing the door softly behind him. Rydia looked over to Cecil, frowning softly at the sad expression upon his handsome features.  
  
"Don't worry, Cecil, we'll rescue Rosa, then teach that Kain a lesson."  
  
Cecil smiled lightly at the girl as she raised a hand to her mouth, covering a small yawn.  
  
"Get some sleep." He said quietly as the young girl leaned against him, closing her bright green eyes.  
  
"Night." She said quietly.  
  
"Good night." Cecil replied as he too closed his eyes, instantly falling into a peaceful slumber.  
  
[Sever hours later...]  
  
Yang opened the door softly to the bedroom Cecil was occupying during his recovery. The Karate Master smiled lightly at the two sleeping people, and hesitated only momentarily before reaching a hand out and shook Cecil's shoulder lightly. The Dark Knight bolted awake instantly, his hand reaching for the sword that wasn't by his side.  
  
"Cecil! Calm down." Yang hand reached out, grasping each of Cecil's wrists with his hands. Thankfully, Yang was slightly stronger than the Dark Knight at the moment, since Cecil was still partially sleeping. The Karate Master successfully prevented Cecil from harming anyone, including himself, but when his dark purple eyes fluttered open, his wrists were freed.  
  
"Sorry, Yang..." He muttered lightly as he sat up, though smiled lightly at the still sleeping Rydia. Yang merely nodded his head at Cecil's apology.   
  
"The ship is ready, we should depart immediately." The young man with brown hair and brown eyes gathered up Cecil's armor, "Hurry." Then left the room. Cecil sighed lightly, then slowly got out of bed, glad to notice that he still had clothes on, though slightly annoyed that he had no armor and was vulnerable. What if, as he was walking to the boat, he ran into Kain? Or Golbez? He looked down to Rydia wearily. Would the Summoner be able to protect them both if attacked when Cecil was without sword? Another sigh escaped the young man as he picked the sleeping girl up in his arms, and once again looked down at her. 'Is she strong enough?'  
  
With a small shake of his head, the young man left the room, heading to the boat. When he arrived, the boat was ready to go, sailors busily running around, and soon final preparations were complete. Yang greeted Cecil the moment he boarded, Rydia having awoken with all the noise, jumped out of the Dark Knight's arms and began running around the ship with excitement. The two older men merely smiled, then took place alongside the rail, watching the waves roll by as the ship swiftly sailed off to Baron. The peaceful boatride was soon interrupted as the waves became choppier, the sailors running around yelling about a storm, but there were no clouds. Cecil raised an eyebrow slightly in question as Yang merely shrugged, thinking nothing of it.   
  
'Something's wrong...' Cecil thought as he swiftly put on his armor, his sword finally back at his side. The ship creaked and groaned as it was lurched from side to side, its occupants being thrown around wildly, painfully. Cecil slammed into the rail with a heavy thud as Yang was knocked off his feel, and that's when Rydia screamed. Her green eyes were focused on the waves rolling in front of the boat, two giant blue eyes were just poking out of the ocean. A large dragonic head appeared out of the sea, blue in color as well, and as more of the creature's body became visible, the more the sailors screamed and ran around in panic.   
  
"Leviathan!" Yang yelled as he gripped the rail to steady himself. The creature Leviathan, God of the Seas, reared his head back, roaring deafly before slamming his head into the side of the boat. Rydia screamed as the ship harshly lurched to the side, throwing the young Summoner over board. Leviathan seemed to cease his assault, allowing Yang the opportunity to dive over the rail and into the ocean in hopes of saving the young girl.  
  
"Rydia! Yang!" Cecil looked up at Leviathan, the creature seeming to look right at the Dark Knight, before bellowing loudly, and slamming himself into the boat once more. And then, it was over, over the second Cecil's head smacked hard into the railing, causing the world, the sea, everything around him to go black.  
  
Cecil groggily awoke, groaning softly at the pain in his head. Dark purple eyes slowly opened, trying to focus on the blurry images before them. Then, he saw the sea before him, and Cecil instantly panicked, thinking he was drowning. The Dark Knight gasped in a breath, hoping to replace the water in his lungs with oxygen, but suddenly stopped. And sat up. He smiled lightly behind his helmet as he looked down at the white sand surrounding him as he sat alone on a large beach. 'Alone?' Cecil was instantly upon his feet, ignoring the pain screaming from his body.  
  
"Rydia!" He quickly glanced around, "Yang!" He glanced around a second time, then third, fourth. And found nothing, no one. The Dark Knight sighed in sadness, then turned and walked away from the sea.  
  
"First Kain, then Rosa, and now Rydia and Yang...what else can go wrong?" Cecil said to himself as he walked up to a little town. He sighed as he read the sign in front of the entrance.  
  
"Welcome to Mysidia, home of the Mages."  
  
'Great...' Cecil though in slight irritation, 'This is just great.' The young Dark Knight headed into town, ignoring the whispers and strange looks, and went towards the largest building, the one place where he might receive lenience. The second he was within the building, the village Elder was immediately in front of him.  
  
"You are not welcome here."  
  
Cecil reached his hands up and removed his dark helmet, allowing the Elder to see his grief filled expression.  
  
"I know you can not forgive me for what I've done, but I am in desperate need for help."  
  
The Elder glanced at the White Mage and Black Mage on either side of him.  
  
"Continue. But know that we may not help you."  
  
Cecil nodded, "Most of my friends are either dead, kidnapped, or have betrayed me. We were on our way to Baron, when our ship was attacked by Leviathan. Baron was not at fault for taking your Crystal. The King was being manipulated by a very powerful man named Golbez. He kidnapped my girlfriend, and enslaved my best friend's mind."  
  
The Elder nodded in understanding, "Even if the King was not himself, it does not excuse the fact that several of my Mages were killed and the Crystal stolen..." He sighed and once again glanced at the Mages near him, "...However, you plead a good case..."   
  
This made Cecil smile every so slightly.  
  
"...But as long as you wield the Dark sword, you will never be able to overcome this great evil. You must go to Mt. Ordeal and renounce your sword to the light."  
  
Cecil frowned lightly, "But I'm in a hurry."  
  
Now it was the Elder's turn to frown, disapproval seemed to find a place in his kind eyes, "You must become a Holy Knight of the Light, a Paladin, or the darkness within your sword will consume your entire being."  
  
Cecil opened his mouth to speak, but the Elder immediately silenced him with a hand and continued to speak.  
  
"I will send two of my most trusted wizards to accompany you."  
  
As if on cue, a young girl walked through the large front doors. She walked with light steps and had an air of confidence and maturity. She had brown hair tied up in a small pony tail on top of her head and the oddest dark yellow eyes one has ever seen. A small smile graced her young features as she walked up to the Elder, a green cape flowing out behind her red pants and shirt, a small light staff clasped to a yellow belt. The Elder smiled brightly as the young girl bowed.  
  
"Porom, where is your brother?"  
  
Porom opened her mouth, though instead of hearing her voice, a cloud of smoke suddenly appeared beside her, a figure materializing within the smoke. A young boy now stood there, appearing to be dressed in opposite colors of the girl, though had the same hair and eerily colored eyes.  
  
"Hey dudes." He greeted merrily. This caused a small sigh to escape the Elder.   
  
"Palom, Porom, you will guide Cecil to and through Mt. Ordeals, aiding him in any way possible."  
  
Both children nodded, then glanced at each other, almost secretly. Porom bowed lightly to the dark Knight.  
  
"Pleased to make your acquaintance."   
  
Palom, however, frowned lightly at Cecil, though his yellow eyes held a small glimmer of mischief.  
  
"Hey man, your lucky to be working with someone as skilled as I am."  
  
"Palom!" The young girl suddenly smacked her brother upside the head, "Respect him, he is much older and wiser than us children."  
  
Cecil glanced from one child to the other in disbelief, his dark purple eyes fell upon the Elder.  
  
"These two? You're joking, right?"  
  
The Elder only smiled then pointed to the door, "Go now, for your journey leads you to the southwest. It will be hard and long, but as long as you believe in yourself and your companions, you can overcome any obstacle."  
  
Cecil sighed lightly, turned and slowly left the town of Mysidia, followed by Palom and Porom. Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Cecil frowned lightly at the blazing fire blocking their path, silently wishing that Rydia and her black magic were here. He turned to the twins standing behind him, not really knowing what they were capable of. Porom only smiled at Cecil and took a step towards the fire.  
  
"Hmm..." She turned and smiled at her brother, calling out to him, "Palom, your turn."  
  
The young boy frowned as he stepped up beside his twin.  
  
"I know! You don't have to tell me!"   
  
Porom only giggled as she stepped away. Palom raised both hands in front of his body and closed his yellow eyes. The air around his tiny body seemed to radiate cold, ice formed around his fingers, his palms, his wrists before a harsh sounding, but soft looking blast of ice flew from his hands, slamming into the firewall ahead. Within mere moments, the fire disappeared, and the ice spell dispersed. Then, Palom jumped into the air, a wide grin spread across his face at the sight of Cecil's wide eyes.  
  
"Oh yeah! Who's the man!"  
  
Porom sighed lightly and looked to Cecil, "He acts very juvenile all the time..."  
  
Cecil merely nodded in agreement, then started walking up the mountain.  
  
Porom followed the dark Knight, "Palom! Come on!"  
  
The male black mage immediately followed the other two, still grinning about his success over the fire. Almost at the summit, Cecil suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, causing Palom and Porom to smack into him.  
  
"What's up, man?" Palom peeked around the side of Cecil and his armor, expecting to see a giant monster. Nothing. He looked up to Cecil. Cecil remained quiet, listening to his surroundings.  
  
"Man..." Palom kicked his boots into the loose rocks below.  
  
"Shh!"  
  
Palom was a little startled when Porom grabbed him and whispered into his ear, "Can't you see he's listening for something. Now be quiet."  
  
The three companions stood in silence for many moments. Palom shifted upon his feet lightly, impatiently.  
  
"Hisssss."  
  
Then Porom smacked her twin on the head.  
  
"Hey!" Cried Palom, "It wasn't me!  
  
Cecil frowned from behind his dark helmet, sighed, then continued onward. An hour or so later, they finally found themselves at the summit. A long, old wooden bridge now stood in their way and just as Cecil was about to put a heavy boot upon one of the wooden planks, he heard it again.  
  
"Hisssss." But this time it was louder.  
  
"See!" Shouted Palom as he pointed to something in front of them, "I told you it wasn't me!"  
  
Cecil swiftly unsheathed the dark sword at his side, holding the long, black blade out in front of his body. In the middle of the bridge, suspended thousands of feet above the natural ground, the air shimmered as an evil presence could be felt throughout the area. Before a figure could be seem, a sinister voice was heard.  
  
"This is the end for you all. You will not get past Milon, the Earth fiend, one of the four fiends of the Elements!" Slowly, a body began to materialize before them, a robed figure, quite short, but still deadly looking.  
  
"Master Golbez sent me here to stop you, and stop you I will!"  
  
Cecil's dark purple seemed to darken with power and rage as he raised the dark sword higher.  
  
"Palom, Porom...I'll keep him busy while you two create some sort of spell to use."  
  
"Got it!" The two yelled as they grasped each others hands, already forming a spell, concentrating on each others power as well as their own. Cecil launched himself towards Milon, sword held high, but as he brought it down, Milon jumped aside, the dark blade barely slicing his skin. The dark Knight swiped again and again, but barely landed a hit, only succeeding in tearing apart most of Milon's robe, though did manage to draw blood.  
  
"Cecil!" The twins cried in unison, "Move!"   
  
Cecil glanced over to them, saw the power radiating off their small bodies, and instantly moved, luckily avoiding a clawed hand reaching for him. Palom and Porom opened their yellow eyes glowing with power, their gazes shifting from each other and towards their enemy. They raised their hands, still clasped together and shouted a single word to the sky.  
  
"Comet!"  
  
The sky darkened for but a moment before becoming incredible bright. Stones of fire fell from the sky in all shapes and sizes but all with the same swiftness, striking Milon down before the trio. The Earth fiend was struck so many times that the force of the blows knocked him right off the old wooden bridge. Cecil, Palom and Porom leaned over the rope rail and watched the 'man' fall to his doom.  
  
"Man, that was awesome!" Palom shouted as he jumped up, landing none too lightly upon the old bridge. The wooden planks creaked harshly, causing Cecil to grab the brittle rope rail while Porom latched onto Cecil's arm.  
  
"Palom!" They both shouted, still the boy from his jumping. Palom merely looked at them with pure ignorance; Porom sighed in slight irritation and Cecil simply crossed the shaking bridge. An oddly shaped rock now stood in front of them, the only rock upon the entire summit. Palom and Porom circled around it, looking, wondering. Cecil stood at what he believed to be the front of the stone structure, a strange feeling over took him as he reached a gloved hand out and placed it upon the stone.  
  
"Cecil!" The twins shouted as Cecil's entire body started to glow with a bright, warm light. His form seemed to shimmer almost as if he were about to disappear into the now chilly air. Palom and Porom ran to him and each clasped a hand upon him before he suddenly disappeared, taking the twin wizards with him. A room completely covered in ice materialized before the trio, but the air around them, thought to be freezing was strangely warm. A large ice wall stood before them, showing their reflections, but the image in front of Cecil shifted, seeming to be alive while Cecil stood absolutely still, not even blinking an eye. As the 3 of them stood there in silence, in awe, each of them felt it. Another presence. Cecil calmly took a step towards the ice mirror, though didn't seem surprised when his image remained still.  
  
"Cecil..." Porom's voice was quiet, almost a whisper.  
  
"...It's a trap." Palom finished his sister's sentence in the same hushed tone.  
  
Suddenly, Cecil's body began to glow, a warm, Holy light seemed to pierce his entire being. The light became blinding, forcing Palom and Porom to close their yellow eyes and turn away. When the light finally disappeared, the form of the dark Knight was gone. In his place, stood a man with a soft golden light radiating off his body, a flowing white cape covered brilliantly shining white armor. Shoulder length, slightly wavy hair, created with an array of colors covered his head. Cecil now stood as a Paladin, a Holy Knight. The image in the mirror remained a dark Knight, and suddenly drew his sword.  
  
"Cecil..." Palom started shouting, "...Behind you!" Finished Porom. Cecil turned, and as soon as his dark purple eyes focused upon the threat, he drew his sword. His dark sword had diminished into a sword of substantial beauty, the Light sword. The blade of the new weapon seemed to glitter a rainbow of colors as light touched upon it. And that's when the dark Knight sprang forward, his sword raised high. Cecil was bringing his sword up to counter the blow, but to Palom and Porom, it seemed that the Paladin was moving too slowly, and that the dark Knight was sure to win. They were forced to close their eyes.  
  
Cecil smiled lightly as his body suddenly burned with speed, raising his sword faster than the dark Knight's. A clang vibrated through the air as metal hit metal, though just at the last moment, Cecil put all his strength behind the blow, the dark Knight's sword was knocked away, clanking to the ground. Cecil now held his light sword at the dark Knight's throat, but only for a moment. As Cecil showed mercy, a brilliant light surrounded the dark Knight, engulfing Cecil as well as Palom and Porom. When the light faded, the dark Knight was no more. Cecil's reflection was the only other Knight within the small ice room. Palom and Porom sighed in relief, but suddenly tensed up as an unearthly chill filled the air. Then...it spoke.  
  
"You have done well...accomplished what no one before you has, for none could show such mercy towards their dark side. I bestowed the Holy light unto you because you are the only one I deem worthy. Now go...my son."  
  
The voice disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, leaving confusion in the air. But before anyone could raise a question, the 3 passed out. Cecil was the first to wake up and the first to notice that the 3 of them were laying outside the castle walls of...Baron. Cecil was staring at the castle so intently that he failed to notice movement on both his sides, the twins were awake. Palom and Porom were instantly upon their feet, immediately acknowledging the fact that they were no where near home.  
  
"How..?" questioned Porom.  
  
"Where..?" asked Palom. Cecil smirked lightly, he would have been more than happy to answer the wizards, if only he knew. His thoughts, however, were mostly upon the events that had recently occurred. 'That light...' he thought as the 3 of them walked to the entrance, 'It said 'my son', what was that light...' The Paladin sighed wearily as Palom tried the door.  
  
"It's locked." He said flatly, his yellow eyes searched the door, "And there's no key."  
  
Just as Porom was about to suggest something, a sound was heard behind them. Cecil whirled around, facing 3 of Baron's guards. He blinked. One of them wasn't quite right, and that's when he realized who he was staring at. A smile played across his face.  
  
"Yang!"  
  
Yang, however, didn't even blink an eye.  
  
"Guards..." he said quietly in a commanding tone.  
  
"Yes, sir?"  
  
"Yang!" Cecil threw his arms up in a gesture of peace, "Its me...Cecil!"  
  
Yang did nothing, but command his guards, "Get them!"  
  
Just as the two guards sprang into attack, a blast of ice suddenly pummeled them both, throwing the two of them into the moat. Palom smirked, hand raised towards their final enemy. Cecil stepped in the way, facing the remaining guard.  
  
"Yang, don't you remember me?"  
  
Yang, the Karate Master of Faboul, suddenly blurted out laughing, though it wasn't menacing, it was a laugh of uncertainty and surprise. Cecil quickly placed a hand upon the hilt of his sword, not knowing if he could trust the fighter or not. Yang smiled lightly at the gesture.  
  
"Don't worry, Cecil, you can still trust me."  
  
Cecil loosened his grip, slightly.  
  
"I didn't recognize you, what happened?" Then a thought entered his mind, "Have you found Rosa yet?"  
  
Cecil looked down sadly as he relaxed, the twins seeming to now trust Yang, glanced at him, and approached him slightly.  
  
"I haven't found her yet...I haven't even had the time to look yet." The Paladin replied as he eyed the twins.  
  
"Sorry." He apologized, "Yang, Master of Karate, meet Palom and Porom, black and white wizards."  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Porom said politely while Palom just said "Hey." Then, "I'm the more talented of us two, the black wizard!"  
  
They merely ignored that.  
  
"What happened after the shipwreck, Yang, and where's Rydia?" Cecil asked anxiously.  
  
Yang sighed lightly.  
  
"I couldn't get to Rydia in time...she was swallowed by Leviathan. I washed up onshore of Baron and was found by some guards. I faked amnesia, I knew that if you were still alive, eventually you would make your way here. I apologize for startling you with that little scene there, but once they found out I was a Karate Master, they recruited me, even placed me next to the King." The young man paused for only a moment before continuing, "I found out that the King is after the Crystal of Earth in Toria, but sometime ago, it was stolen by a cruel dark elf who will slaughter any that go near him. It will be safe there for a time, but Baron will eventually get it, they are not short on human sacrifices. I had to hurt a many innocent people to gain their trust, and to acquire this..." Pulled out of his yellow sash, Yang held up the key to the front door of Baron castle.  
  
"Enough about me..." The karate master unlocked the door and let them all inside, "What happened to you, Cecil?"  
  
Cecil waited while the front door clanged shut nosily and for Yang to lock it before answering.  
  
"I awoke on a beach near Mysidia, and needless to say, the Mysidians were not pleased to see me, especially since I had taken their Crystal earlier...with force. But I talked to the Elder, hoping to find a way to Baron, but he wouldn't allow me to get there until I went to Mt. Ordeals and became a Holy Knight. He provided me the assistance of Palom and Porom, who came in very helpful..."  
  
The twins smiled brightly, proud of their power.  
  
"...I renounced my dark sword to the mysterious light upon the summit and became a Paladin...and the rest is a mystery. Someone or something transferred us here."  
  
The four walked down the strangely empty corridors of the castle in silence, contemplating Cecil's words. An eerie voice suddenly stopped them dead in their tracks. They all listened intently, awaiting for it again. Te sound startled them even though they were expecting it.  
  
"Wha..." Palom started to say, but was shushed by his sister.  
  
'A voice..?' Cecil though, 'but who...and where?'  
  
The four companions started walking again, silently listening. When it was heard again, it was more audible than just a ghostly howl.   
  
"Hellooo!"  
  
Shock hit Cecil's entire body.  
  
"Cid!" he yelled into the dimly lit corridor.  
  
"Cecil?" The voice of Cid still sounded hollow and haunted even though Cecil had identified the creator.  
  
"Where are you?" The Paladin shouted as he suddenly bolted down the corridor, Yang, Palom and Porom reluctantly following.  
  
"The jail!" The voice got louder as Cecil ran deeper into the deserted castle, then down some stairs. He was shocked to see Cid behind bars.  
  
"Cid! What are you doing in there?"  
  
"Cecil?" The older man with blue hair looked at Cecil, puzzled, "What happened to you?"  
  
"Nevermind that now, we have to get you out of there first." Cecil yanked on the door with no luck. He grabbed the hilt of his light sword as Cid backed away from the bars. The Paladin was about to pull out his sword when Yang placed a hand upon Cecil's shoulder.  
  
"Allow me."   
  
Everyone stepped away from the bars as Yang let out a yell and slammed his foot into the cell door. Metal squeaked and twitched as the door bent in towards the cell, the lock very broken.  
  
"Holy shit!" Exclaimed Cid as he stepped out of his once holding cell, "That's some kick you got there!"  
  
Cecil smiled lightly as Yang bowed slightly to Cid, the Paladin had greatly missed Cid.  
  
"Allow me to introduce everyone." Cecil said with a smile, "Cid, Master Engineer, creator of the airships, this is Yang, Karate Master of Faboul, and two twins, Palom, a Black Mage, and Porom, a White Mage."  
  
Cid smiled at the little group, but a sad frown soon crossed his lips.   
  
"Where's Kain? And what about Rosa? She ran after you, did you find her? Or did her and Kain run away together?"  
  
Cid's frown got heavier at the sad yet serious expression upon Cecil's face.  
  
"Kain...has been enslaved by Golbez, and Rosa kidnapped by him..."  
  
Cid got angry, which was not unusual for the short tempered man.  
  
"Damn that Golbez, I'll kill him next time I see him!"  
  
Yang and Cecil looked shocked.  
  
"You know Golbez?" Yang asked first.  
  
Cid seemed to get even angrier, if that was even possible.  
  
"I overheard that bastard talking to the King, that's why I was in this Goddamn place!"  
  
Cecil placed a hand upon his old friend's shoulder.  
  
"Calm down, Cid, and tell us what you heard."  
  
The Engineer calmed down a little, and took a deep breath before he spoke.  
  
"I heard Golbez telling the King about a new foe that would become powerful enough to stop his plans..." A small smile fell upon Cid's face, "I only assume he was talking about you. Anyway, I was about to turn away when the King's face and body started to melt..." Cid turned from the group, hiding a secret smile as he left a dramatic pause, "The King turned into a monster named Kainanzo, one of Golbez's four fiends of the elements, the water fiend. The real King has been dead long before any of this Crystal gathering had started. Golbez knows I saw and heard everything, so he threw me in here."  
  
Yang scratched his chin in wonder.  
  
"Why did he let you live...or rather, why didn't he kill you?"  
  
"Cid is too valuable. He builds airships, remember. If Golbez killed him, his supply would be cut off, and he would no longer have an army at his command." Cecil glanced at everyone, "But we really should get going."  
  
They all nodded in agreement and started walking.  
  
"The castle has been deserted for some time now, but many traps have been placed in order to keep bandits out." Cid said as he led them towards the throne room.  
  
"So, where did you hide your latest airship?" Cecil asked, glancing around him, wondering what lay ahead.  
  
Cid smiled, "Where they would never find it...behind the throne room."  
  
When they entered the room just before the throne room, the air seemed to be colder than the rest of the castle. Cid reached his hand out and grabbed the door handle...it was locked.  
  
"A different way..." Cid seemed to say to himself. Since Yang was at the back of the small group, he was able to reach out for that door handle. However, when the door had closed behind them when they first entered, it locked itself. Yang pulled on the door.  
  
"Locked too..." The Karate Master was about to try and kick it down when the walls started to move, swiftly closing around them.  
  
"Shit!" was Cecil's only word.  
  
"What do we do?" Cid sounded panicked. Palom and Porom glanced at each other, nodded, then stood back to back, though facing the crushing walls.  
  
"It has been a pleasure working with you Cecil, and nice meeting you Yang and Cid..." Porom raised her hands.  
  
"This is the end of our journey. Sorry, Cecil, but the Elder sent us to spy on you, he couldn't trust you completely..." Palom also raised his hands.  
  
"We trust you now, Cecil, and we hope that everything works out fine for you..." Porom closed her eyes.  
  
"It's been fun guys, but we have to do this..." Palom closed his eyes.  
  
"No!" Cecil screamed, "Don't!"  
  
But it was too late, the twins had made up their minds.  
  
"Stone!" They shouted together. A soft grey light surrounded them both, their small bodies turned to stone. The oncoming walls stopped when they touched Palom and Porom's outstretched stone hands. Cecil felt terrible, and responsible even thought they did it out of their own free will. Yang bowed to the two stone figures out of respect while Cid only muttered a word.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
After a few moments of silence, Yang finally kicked down the door to the throne room. Cecil and Yang stood in silence as Cid walked to the back of the throne and fiddled with something until a small door opened in the back wall. After walking down a long bridge, they came to what appeared to be an underground airport. Cid's newest airship was waiting.  
  
"Well, guys..." Cid smiled as he ran a hand over the steering wheel, "Isn't she beautiful?"  
  
Yang nodded his head in definite approval, unable to find any words for he had never seen suck a machine. Cid frowned at the sad expression upon Cecil's face. Cecil suddenly received a small smack upon the back.  
  
"Cheer up, Cecil, with my ship, we'll find Rosa in no time."  
  
With a small smile from Cecil, preparations were soon complete and in no time, they were landed beside the small town of Baron. Cid had gone into town to get his number 1 pilot, who also happened to be his daughter's boyfriend. Cid returned shortly with a young man with short, white spiky hair, and blue eyes so light that they appeared white.  
  
"Guys, this is Myth, best airship pilot ever trained...by me." Cid smiled as he introduced everyone. In mere moments, Myth had successfully gotten them into the air. And that's when they heard it. Yang turned and looked behind them, a red wing ship. Cecil frowned as Cid gave orders to Myth.  
  
"Lets go! Get this thing to top speed and lose that damn ship!"  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
"No!" Cecil suddenly shouted, "A white flag..."  
  
"Surrender?" Yang didn't like this. Myth held the ship steady as the other ship pulled up along side it. A long, wooden plank slid out of the red ship and attached itself to Cid's ship. A man walked out onto it, a man in dark blue armor, Dragoon armor. Cecil stepped onto the bridge as well, his voice shook with sadness as he spoke.  
  
"Kain..."  
  
"It's been awhile, Cecil." Kain's red eyes burned like fire.  
  
"Rosa?" was all Cecil managed to choke out.  
  
Kain smirked lightly, "She's fine..."  
  
'Still has the same attitude,' Cecil thought, almost wanting to smile, 'even if he is evil...'  
  
"Speaking of which..." Kain continued, "I have a proposition for you."  
  
Cecil frowned.  
  
"I will return your precious, sweet Rosa to you, if you get me the Crystal of Earth."  
  
"Kain, you bastard!" Cid took a step forward but silent Yang put a restraining hand upon his shoulder. Kain's smirk got bigger.  
  
"Before I agree to anything, I want to see her, make sure she rally is ok." Cecil wanted desperately to trust the Dragoon to stay true to his words, but found himself doubting that he would get Rosa back in one piece...unless he did something soon. Kain turned his head and nodded to one of the little imps onboard. Cecil smiled in his mind. 'How stupid! I can't believe he brought her here.' However, his dark purple eyes narrowed and his mood turned darker as a goblin came out of the basement, a blond woman with pink eyes with him. Rosa was dressed in a white prison dress, which was ripped in a few places, and had a dark bruise upon one of her rosy cheeks. Kain grabbed her arm, surprisingly gentle and brought her closer to Cecil, but not too close.  
  
"What happened to her?"  
  
Kain smirked again, "She had an accident, what's it look like?"  
  
Cecil wanted to hit him.  
  
"Rosa..."  
  
The young woman smiled lightly at the man she had always loved.  
  
"Cecil..."  
  
Kain rolled his red eyes and frowned, "Oh, spare me..."  
  
And that's when Rosa attempted to elbow him in the stomach. When her elbow hit Kain's armor, the Dragoon laughed at her cruelly. He stopped when Cecil's fist hit his face. Kain stumbled backward a few steps, but recovered and glared fiercely at Cecil before diving at him and punched him in the stomach. The Paladin doubled over for only a moment before he landed a swift uppercut to Kain. The blow knocked Kain off his feet and onto his back, his helmet was jarred loose as his head hit the floor of his own ship. Cecil was immediately upon him, sitting on the Dragoon's stomach as he relentlessly punched him in the face.  
  
While the two were keeping each other busy, Cid and Yang hastily went aboard the other ship and swiftly took out the imps and goblins, Yang with his Karate, Cid with a gigantic wrench. When done, Cid ran to Rosa and gave her a hug, he loved her like a father loved his daughter.  
  
"Are you ok?" he asked when he let go.  
  
Rosa nodded her head, "Yes, I'm fine..."  
  
"We need to get out of here." Yang hastily hustled them back to the other ship.  
  
Kain wanted to laugh, but couldn't. 'Why am I letting him get the better of me? I'm way stronger than he is.'  
  
Cecil hit Kain in the face again and as he brought his fist up to do it again, Kain suddenly punched Cecil square in the nose. Least to say, Cecil was shocked, giving Kain the opportunity to punch Cecil hard in the cheek, knocked the Paladin off of him. The two combatants got to their feet, both exhausted, and swaying lightly upon their feet, both bleeding. Kain's Dragoon helmet, that had not ever come off in the presence of others, was badly broken on one side, and was likely to fall off with another impact. Then Kain tackled Cecil, the two of them crashed into the rail of the airship, Kain's helmet fell off as the two of them fell into the open sky.  
  
"Cecil!" Rosa screamed, "Kain!"  
  
Cid was immediately beside his pilot, "Myth, lets get this ship moving!"  
  
Myth suddenly looked a bit frightened.  
  
"I'd love to Captain, but we're still attached to the red wing...we can't move."  
  
"What are we going to do then? We can't just let them fall to their deaths!"  
  
Cid looked over to Yang, who pointed to Rosa. The White wizard had a look of complete concentration.  
  
Cecil glanced over to Kain, the Dragoon had his face covered with his arms, allowing Cecil to only glimpse what he usually saw. To Cecil, his long time friend didn't appear panicked that they were about to die...the Paladin, on the other hand, was screaming inside. Even though the ground was swiftly approaching them, time seemed to move very slowly to Cecil, he even thought he heard the sweet voice of his loved one.  
  
"Float!" Rosa opened her eyes to see her love and friend stop their death-descents in mid air, several feet from the ground. Her magic, however, had been underused lately, and was fading faster than usual. Cecil and Kain suddenly fell the last 10ft or so to the earth, landing with a thump and a puff of dirt. Cecil got up first and looked over to Kain, the Dragoon was on his stomach, arms still covering his face.  
  
"Kain, you ok?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Lets see."  
  
Kain peeked his eyes out from between his arms. The icy blue orbs peered up into Cecil's dark purple ones. The Paladin smiled.  
  
"Normal?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"You back on our side?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Good to have you back."  
  
"I know." 


	4. What once was lost, now is found

Playing God  
  
Chapter 4: What once was lost, now is found  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 2/4.  
  
Kain frowned lightly as he heard the airship land nearby. He was still laying upon his stomach, head resting upon his arms though his face was still hidden. Cecil was seated upon the grass next to Kain, cross legged, eyes upon Rosa as she ran out of the ship. He stood and welcomed his girlfriend into his arms. Rosa kissed Cecil lightly and smiled.  
  
"Are you ok, Cecil?"  
  
The Paladin smiled and released Rosa.  
  
"I'm fine thanks to you."  
  
The young blond haired woman crouched down beside Kain and grabbed his arms.  
  
"Kain, are you ok?" She tugged lightly.  
  
A muffled reply of "fine" was heard. Rosa tugged on his arms harder.  
  
Cecil took a step towards them.  
  
"Rosa..."  
  
He looked up as he saw something. Yang and Cid. The two of them suddenly ran up and went on each side of Kain and grabbed him, hauling the dragoon to his feet. Kain's face was turned to the ground.  
  
"Guys..." Cecil now took a step back, he knew Kain's temper and what was sure to happen. Rosa stood infront of Kain, raised a hand and gently placed it under his chin.  
  
"Rosa..." Kain muttered as he began to struggle slightly, "Don't..."  
  
She raised his head and gasped. Cid and Yang released Kain's arms and stepped around to see his face. Even though he was free to run, Kain was too shocked to move, his icy blue eyes stared continuously into Rosa's pink orbs. Cecil, of course, had to look too, even if he didn't want to. Kain's slightly wide eyes darted from one person to the other.  
  
'Why are they all staring?' He thought as his eyes fell to Rosa, 'Am I that hideous?'  
  
All Rosa could do was stare at Kain's face, she had never seen it before even though she has known the dragoon since he was 8 years old. The young woman reached a hand out to touch his face.  
  
'God, he's beautiful!' She though while in a small trance. Kain's eyes widened a little more, but he was unable to move, and when Rosa's soft fingers lightly brushed his smooth cheek, he flinched and she knew she had overstepped his boundaries. Immediately Rosa snapped out of her trance, took her hand away and smiled lightly.  
  
"Sorry, Kain. It's just that you're so handsome."  
  
Kain blinked, 'Handsome?'  
  
Cecil's eyes widened, then he suddenly reached out and grabbed Rosa's hand.  
  
"We've all had a pretty rough day. I think it would be wise to get some rest, and..." He turned his attention solely to Kain, "Get some information about Golbez."  
  
Kain merely nodded. Cid let out a yawn, "I'm going to take the airship home and stay with my daughter for awhile. I'll see you guys later."  
  
"Bye Cid." They said almost in unison, except Kain, who was too shocked to say a word. With Cid gone, the four remaining people headed to Cecil's tower in Baron Castle. However, once they were in town, Rosa stopped them.  
  
"Does anyone mind if we stay at my house? I'd like to see my mother?"   
  
With no objections, they went to Rosa's, where Rosa proceeded to visit with her mother, Kain locked himself in the bathroom, probably having a shower, while Cecil and Yang sat at the kitchen table talking. After awhile, the bathroom door opened and Kain stepped out in only a towel. Everyone stared. Rosa's mother fainted, while Rosa dropped the mug of hot tea she was drinking. As the cup shattered upon the floor, Cecil looked over to Kain. The Dragoon was exceptionally muscular, but appeared slim not bulky. Cecil himself was quite muscular, but not as much as Kain. The Paladin glanced over to Rosa who was still staring at Kain, her mouth open.  
  
'Great...' Cecil thought, 'I'd better not lose my girl to my best friend.' Kain now had an annoyed look upon his face.  
  
"Will you morons stop staring at me already?!" Icy blue eyes narrowed. "I need some clothes."  
  
Rosa blinked and shook herself.  
  
"What about your armor? Why can't you wear that?"  
  
Kain frowned lightly, "Since all of you have seen my face, I will be banned from the order of Dragoons. As a matter of fact, one of them should be by soon to take back my armor, so I should really get dressed soon."  
  
Rosa's mom soon recovered from fainting, and Yang was there to help her up.  
  
"Rosa, sweetie, take Kain upstairs, I'm sure there are some clothes up there for him."  
  
The two of them silently walked upstairs, leaving a frowning Cecil behind. Kain waited patiently while Rosa ruffled through drawers, searching for something that the Dragoon could wear. She eventually found something for Kain, of course, she found something for herself first. As soon as Rosa tossed Kain his 'new' clothes, he stood and dropped the towel, his back to Rosa. If it was humanly possible, Rosa's jaw would have hit the floor. She tried not to stare at Kain's naked body, but she was mesmerized by the way his muscles moved as he pulled up a pair of white boxers over his lower half. When the Dragoon started to pull on a pair of black pants, Rosa noticed something odd. The white wizard was immediately right behind Kain, and reached out, touching a small lump upon his shoulder blade, an identical one on the other side. Kain flinched at the contact and grunted lightly in pain.  
  
"Kain?" Rosa's voice held concern, which did not surprise him.  
  
"They appeared about a week or two ago...and there's three." He reached back and pulled the waist of his boxers down slightly, a third lump was upon his tail bone and lower back. Rosa gently placed her hand full upon the one she had previously touched, her voice soft when she spoke.  
  
"Cure."  
  
The young woman frowned, something that she didn't do often.  
  
"It didn't work, Kain, which means its not an injury, but..."  
  
"Natural." Kain finished.  
  
"Kain..." Rosa's voice shook for she seemed deeply troubled by this, "I'm sorry."  
  
The young Dragoon turned to face her, and smirked lightly. This made her smile, she definitely liked the look on his entire face when he smirked.  
  
"Forget it." He said lightly. With nothing more said, Kain slipped a white tank top over his muscles, grabbed his shoes and socks, and headed downstairs, leaving Rosa to change in peace. The white wizard dressed in her usual attire of a light pink skirt and shirt, white boots and a white cape while Kain wondered into the bathroom and took out all his old stuff. He placed his Dragoon armor beside the front door for he knew that one from the order was one his way. The Dragoon went through all his stuff, taking a few select items that he would be allowed to keep. He sighed lightly and ran a hand through his light blue hair which proved slightly difficult for his blue strands were styled in a way that they were infront of his face, but didn't touch him at all, his hair defied gravity by sticking out straight horizontally. As Rosa walked down the stairs, Kain put on his socks and some runners. Rosa then sat down beside a disgruntled Cecil, but when she grabbed his hand and squeezed it, his mood lightened significantly.   
  
"Where's mom?" She asked after glancing around the room, "And Yang?"  
  
A small smile played across Cecil's lips, "Your mom went shopped and insisted that Yang go with her."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Cecil laughed lightly for the first time in days, "I quote her... 'It's not safe in this day and age for a young woman to go out alone. I must have a big strong man like you to help me if I run into any trouble.' The funny this is...I think she was serious."  
  
The two of them burst out laughing. Kain merely shook his head as he put his belt on. He clipped his sword and sheath to his right hip. When he reached out for his dagger, one would notice a tattoo upon his upper right arm, near his shoulder. The tattoo consisted of the letter 'D' with a dragon intertwined and around it. Within the single eye of the dragon was a gold letter 'K'. The 'D' stood for Dragoon, the 'K' for Kain. The Dragoon clipped his dagger to the left side of his belt, easily accessible for his left more dominant hand. Cecil looked over to his best friend, without his armor, Kain did not look very threatening, but Cecil knew better.   
  
"Why the sword, Kain? And what happened to your spear?"  
  
Kain unsheathed his sword with a long curved blade and a gold hilt. He swung it around a few times. Cecil's eyes widened, and Kain smirked at it.  
  
"Golbez trained me in many different forms of sword fighting, including Ninja and Knight. As for my spear..." Kain returned his sword to its sheath and pulled out his dagger. With the press of a small switch near the blade, the small silver blade seemed to split to become three separate blades. Next, Kain pressed another switch on the handle, which made it several feet longer. The dagger turned into a triple bladed spear. Cecil was impressed.  
  
"That's quite a trick...but Kain, what happened after the earthquake in Mist?"  
  
Kain returned his dagger to his sheath and sat down at the table beside Rosa, a light frown upon his face.   
  
"All I remember is tossing that girl up to you and falling, then everything went black. When I woke up, Golbez was looking down at me and I was strapped to a table."  
  
Rosa had her full attention upon Kain, listening intently while she stared at his handsome face. That bothered Cecil somewhat.  
  
"Then what?" Rosa asked.  
  
Kain sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Well, I think I passed out again, the next thing I knew, I was standing in a training room with a sword in my hand. Golbez trained me in many different styles of sword fighting."  
  
Cecil frowned lightly.  
  
"If he could train you like that, just imagine how powerful he is. We might have a lot of trouble beating this guy."  
  
Kain smirked lightly, which made Cecil's frown become heavier.  
  
"Don't worry about him, Cecil, we can take him no problem."  
  
Kain's confidence made Cecil try to make a rebuttal.  
  
"But..."  
  
A knock on the door interrupted the Paladin. As Rosa rose to answer the door, so did Kain. He placed a hand upon her shoulder and pushed the young woman back down to her seat, gently.  
  
"I'll get it...its for me anyway."  
  
Rosa obediently stayed in her seat, though glanced at Cecil with slightly wide pink eyes. Cecil only shrugged. Kain opened the door to come face to face with the head Dragoon Master himself.  
  
"Kain."  
  
"Sir." Kain bowed his head slightly in respect for the other Dragoon. The head Dragoon, Draco, frowned down at Kain lightly. He wore Dragoon armor similar to Kain's except his was black and had wings and a tail attached, both of which, were armored. He was very much taller than Kain and heavier with creepy yellow eyes making Draco look very intimidating.  
  
"You knew that rules of the Dragoon order when you joined at the age of 2, and have honored them well until today. You have removed your helmet in the presences of others, whether by fault or self, it does not matter. You have disobeyed and are hereby banned from the order forever, unless we deem you worthy to return." Draco firmly gripped Kain's upper right arm tightly and with his free hand, pulled a dagger out of his belt. He held the wickedly curved gold blade to Kain's arm, over his tattoo, and dug the blade in quite deep before harshly dragging it across his skin. Kain had closed his eyes as he felt the skin upon his arm being torn apart by the swift blade. He did not wince, struggle or show any sign of weakness infront of Draco. As the crimson blood began to run down Kain's arm, Draco pulled the blade and his other hand away, freeing Kain.  
  
"You will be missed, Kain." With that last statement, Draco turned and left, Kain's Dragoon belongings in hand. Kain watched Draco as the fake wings upon his back spread and took him into the air with narrow blue eyes that momentarily flashed red. The young man clenched his fists, blood dripped off his right hand and splashed lightly upon the floor. Kain slammed the door shut, and tried to calm down for he knew exactly what would happen if he got mad and that wouldn't be good right now. Rosa immediately jumped up and ran to Kain, noticing that he was injured. The white wizard instantly cured Kain's wound but frowned at it for instead of healing perfectly, there was a huge scar which just looked as if the blood was cleaned off, it still looked open, distorting the Dragoon tattoo heavily. Cecil walked over to his best friend.  
  
"Are you ok?"  
  
"Fine." Kain stated quite harshly, he was not too happy right now. Rosa glanced to each man that had been in her life for a very long time.  
  
"Maybe we should all get some sleep now, and discuss our situation in the morning when Yang and Cid are here."  
  
Both Holy Knight and Dragoon nodded and headed upstairs towards the bedrooms, no one seemed to be worried about Rosa's mother and Yang.  
  
***  
  
When morning had rolled around, five people were seated at the small table in the kitchen of Rosa's fairly large house. A Paladin, Dragoon, white wizard, Karate Master, and an Engineer had just finished a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs. As Rosa poured some coffee for the two older men, Cid turned his attention from the rich brown coffee to Kain's tired looking face.  
  
"Alright, Kain, tell us everything you know."  
  
All eyes turned to Kain and when Rosa sat back down, he began.  
  
"As we know, Golbez is collection the four elemental Crystals. He has tree but does not have the Crystal of Earth yet."  
  
"But that's in the hands of the dark elf, surely its safe until we can get it?" Yang questioned.  
  
Kain shook his head, "Don't bet on it. He will just send a lackey or one of his fiends to retrieve it..."  
  
"What are those things?" Interrupted Rosa.  
  
"Basically humans turned into monsters and fused with strong elemental magic."  
  
"How many are there?" Cecil glanced down at the glass of water sitting untouched infront of him.  
  
"Four. There's Milon, the Earth fiend..."  
  
"He was killed." Cecil butt in, his thoughts turned to the fight with Milon and Palom and Porom. His face darkened slightly. 'Palom, Porom...'  
  
"So you thought." Kain bashed away Cecil's thoughts of the twins, "Golbez came to his aid at the last moment. Anyway, there's also Cagnanzo, the Water fiend, who was posing as the fake king, Valvalos, the Wind fiend and Rubecant, the Fire fiend. Fourtunately, you haven't met Valvalos and Rubecant, they're the strongest ones, Rubecant more so."  
  
"Earth, Water, Wind and Fire..." Rosa stole a look to Cecil, "They sound like the Crystals."  
  
"Actually, they were created with the power of the Crystals were hundreds of years ago. The Crystals were stolen from their keepers by a mad scientist that was quite powerful..."  
  
"Golbez?" Put in Yang.  
  
Kain chuckled lightly, "Believe it or not, but Golbez is human just like us, he's probably not much older than Cecil."  
  
"Enough with the interruptions." Cid snorted, slamming his coffee mug to the table, "Let Kain talk."  
  
A small smirk played across Kain's lips before he continued.  
  
"This scientist kidnapped four people that used black magic and created the four fiends. Of course the people were against it even if it meant greater power and longer life. He did it anyway and as soon as the four received their power, they rebelled and killed him. They lay dormant until a very powerful man named Golbez came along and convinced them to work for him, promising them anything they wanted in return. That's all I know about them, Golbez on the other hand, I can tell you a little more about. Golbez is after the Crystals and will get all four of them. However..."  
  
"Damn him!" Cid interrupted even though he didn't want anyone else too, "We have to stop him?"  
  
"Forget it..." Kain said coolly, and with the angry expression upon Cid's face, he swiftly continued, "Golbez might acquire these four, but there are still four more."  
  
"The Dark Crystals." Cecil said gloomily.  
  
"Then we still have a chance." Cid smiled lightly.  
  
"Why is he collecting the Crystals?" Asked Rosa.  
  
"Where are the Dark Crystals?" Yang inquired. They all looked to Kain for answers. This made the young man sigh, but he knew what he was getting into when he joined Golbez.  
  
"Golbez is collecting the Crystals to open a path to the moon, though I do not know why. The Dark Crystals are located in the underground, supposedly protected by the dwarfs. I do not know where the entrance to the underground is, but Golbez gave me something to give to you, Cecil, and he said you would know where to use it." Kain reached into his pocket and took something out, placing it in Cecil's outstretched hand. The Paladin looked down to a small key in his palm. A single word etched across the top; 'Magma'.   
  
Cecil sighed, "I have no idea where this goes."  
  
Now glum faces stared at the table top. And that's when Cid smiled.  
  
"Hey, come on guys, quit moping around. We have my airship remember, we can find this place in no time?"   
  
The gloom in the air vanished into a hopeful ambience.  
  
"Cid's right." Cecil stated as he stood from the table, everyone else following suit, "Let's get started right away. While Golbez is still up here hunting for the Earth Crystal, we should get a head start for the Dark ones, warn the dwarfs and help them."  
  
Everyone seemed as enthusiastic as Cecil expect Kain, but only Rosa noticed. The Dragoon was rubbing the lump on his lower back, slight pain and discomfort lined his blue eyes, but none showed upon his face. As the others busily hustled around the house, preparing to leave, Rosa went over to Kain, grabbed his arm and pulled him outside.  
  
"Is it bothering you?" The young woman asked as she closed the door behind them. Kain looked slightly annoyed but Rosa knew it was the lump and not her.  
  
Kain nodded, "Since last night." The young Dragoon frowned at the white wizard lightly, "Don't be concerned, it'll be fine."  
  
Rosa nodded in understanding and even though her face didn't show concern, her pink eyes did.  
  
"But what if Golbez..."  
  
"Golbez didn't implant anything in my body, ok." Kain cut her off, "Now lets get back inside before they think something is wrong."  
  
Even though Kain had raised his voice to Rosa and anyone else over the years, this time it frightened her. As his voice rose, red briefly flashed through his icy blue eyes, causing Rosa to take a step away from the Dragoon. Oddly enough, this did not puzzle or concern Kain, he just walked away. And that's when the door opened, a softly frowning Paladin stepping out. Rosa looked up at him and gave a smile that would melt any man's heart.  
  
"Kain's...not feeling well."  
  
A small smile and nod came from Cecil, "We'll pick him up after we go to Cid's and get the airship."  
  
***  
  
"We've been flying around for hours and haven't found a thing?" Exasperated, Rosa sat down in the bow of the flying ship, her back resting upon the railing. Cecil stood near Cid, who was piloting the large ship, Yang on the port side and Kain on starboard though the young Dragoon had not said a word since they picked him up outside of Baron.  
  
"Where haven't we looked?" Rosa's tone was slightly whinny.  
  
"We've been all over the mainlands..." Cid looked over to Cecil, "So lets try some islands."  
  
The young Paladin smiled though seemed distant, like Cecil and his thoughts were elsewhere. He glanced over to Kain, slightly disturbed by his silence, the Dragoon was usually quite mouthy. 'He's been acting strange since we got him back...' Cecil thought as he stared at his longtime best friend, 'I wonder if he's still under the influence of Golbez and is only pretending to be our ally.' The Paladin broke off his own thoughts as he decided to just go and talk to Kain. While he walked up to Kain and stood beside him, Cecil saw a soft frown upon the Dragoon's lips and immediately did not like it.  
  
"What's bothering you?" Cecil asked, but was somewhat surprised when Kain smirked.  
  
"Nothing, but something is bothering you."  
  
Somehow, Cecil was not surprised, "Rosa is concerned about you, and you know that she will worry herself sick."  
  
"So..." Kain's smirk grew slightly, "You're really worried about her and not me."  
  
"Kain, that's not what I meant..."  
  
"Since you're so concerned about her, why don't you go see how she's doing and leave me alone?" His tone was slightly bitter when he spoke and turned away from Cecil. The young Paladin was heartbroken that the one that he thought of as a brother was being so cold to him. Frowning lightly, trying not to be concerned, Cecil started to head towards Rosa when he stumbled, the airship suddenly taking a plunge."  
  
"Cid!" Cecil yelled as he recovered himself.  
  
The older man snickered, "Sorry, Cecil, but I think I found the spot!"  
  
The Paladin ran as best he could to the bow and stood next to Rosa, placing a steady arm around her slender waist. The two of them glanced over the rail, a very small town lay just ahead with a large odd shaped mountain covering a vast portion of the small island. As the airship descended and Cid proceeded to find a spot to land, Yang helping him a little, Cecil turned his attention to the lovely woman beside him.  
  
"Rosa..."  
  
She looked up at him, "Yes, Cecil?"  
  
"Do you know what's wrong with Kain?"  
  
Rosa sighed lightly, but smiled at the man she loved, "Its his back...he has three lumps on it."  
  
Cecil's purple eyes widened slightly, "Lumps? What do you mean, Lumps?"  
  
"They're just lumps, Cecil, and I tried to heal them but it turned out that they're natural."  
  
"Natural...what could they be then?"  
  
The young woman shrugged, "I don't know...but he says not to worry, even though one of them is starting to hurt."  
  
Their conversation was cut off there as Cid gently landed the huge craft. The town was very small, so it didn't take them long to look around; and the village seemed to sell nothing but silver armor and weapons. After done exploring, they all met up at a strange well. Kain leaned against the well, absentmindedly rubbing his lower back.  
  
"So, did anyone find out anything useful?" Cecil asked the small group. Yang was the only one to reply.  
  
"I discovered quite a bit of useful information. First of all, this town is frequent to very bad earthquakes in the mountain. They started happening a couple of hundred years ago, and eventually opened up a large hole in the mountain. The townsfolk explored it and discovered mass amounts of lava thousands of feet down, but this mountain is not a volcano and never has been. Second, the ancestors of these people were dwarves, that is why they are quite small.  
  
"Ok, mister know-it-all..." Cid smiled lightly, "Since you know everything, why is there steam coming out of that well?" He pointed over to where the Dragoon stood.  
  
"Its simple." Kain suddenly said, "All that magma is running throughout this island and under it, therefore, boiling the well water ."  
  
Cecil was thinking about the key that he received earlier as soon as Kain said magma. 'This is the place.' Cecil thought as he pulled the key out of his armor, 'But where to use it...'  
  
Kain smirked lightly as he saw Cecil glancing around the town.  
  
"Give me that." The Dragoon suddenly grabbed the key from Cecil and stood infront of the well.  
  
"Kain..." Cecil tried to protest.  
  
"Prepare for an earthquake." He dropped the key down the well. Then, it started. The earthquake came so suddenly that it knocked them all off their feet, Rosa falling into Kain's lap, severally startling the Dragoon. As Kain stood upon the shaky ground as best he could, he brought Rosa up with him. And when he noticed the heavy scowl upon Cecil's face, Kain immediately shoved Rosa away from him and into the arms of the Paladin. In the midst of the ground shaking, and buildings collapsing all around the small group, Cecil was suddenly hit with a flashback.  
  
~ The force of Titan's punch vibrated through the ground, opening large cracks everywhere. Earthquake was Titan's specialty, his strongest attack, so strong, that a large, very deep crack opened up right beneath Cecil, Kain, and Rydia. Cecil jumped to the side, but Kain and the girl were not so fortunate. They both fell. ~   
  
It hit Cecil so hard that he nearly fell over, pulling Rosa with him. The Paladin's eyes were wide as he slightly tightened his grip upon Rosa, his eyes upon Kain though. He could have lost them both. Kain for a second time in an earthquake, and Rose instead of Rydia. As the quake ran through the small town, a sudden explosion caught all their attention.   
  
"The mountain?" Cid yelled above the noise. The top of the mountain had blown up, chunks of rock, tons of dust and sand fell upon them as a large hole opened up in the mountain. Suddenly, it was all over, with the exception of debris raining on them. Now they all stood in a broken town and it was all their faults. Cecil felt terrible, this was the second time in a few short years that he had destroyed a town full of innocent people. Cid on the other hand, seemed excited.  
  
"Let's go exploring!"  
  
Everyone stared at him like he suddenly turned into a monster.  
  
"Cid, its way too late to go now, its getting dark." Rosa complained lightly.  
  
"Besides we don't know what's down there or what we might find. It would be better to go in the morning when we can be better prepared and when its light." Cecil finished for Rosa, while he noticed Cid start to sulk slightly.  
  
"Whatever you say, Cecil, you're the leader of this crazy expedition." The older man with dark blue hair mumbled lightly. Cecil smiled lightly and quickly glanced at everyone. They all looked tired except Kain, he just looked very grumpy and continuously rubbed the lump on his lower back. The town's hotel had been destroyed, sot he only option was to sleep onboard the airship. Cecil rested himself in the bow, Rosa snuggled up next to him, her slender arms drapped over his body, Yang on starboard, Cid was sagged against the steering wheel, while Kain decided to sleep alone in the stern. The night had been peaceful, but morning was hell. All, except snoring Cid, woke to Kain grunting in pain. Rosa was immediately by his side, Cecil on the other.  
  
"Kain, what's wrong!?" Rosa was instantly panicked by the Dragoon's pain. Kain was laying upon his stomach, head slightly resting upon crossed arms.   
  
"My back!" He yelled in both pain and anger. Cecil immediately pulled Kain's shirt up to his neck, revealing Kain's entire back and three lumps. The two upon his shoulder blades were larger than the last time Rosa saw them, but it was the sole one upon his lower back and tailbone that bothered her. It was almost twice the size it had been only a couple of days ago, and seemed to be pulsing, like something was about to burst threw the skin. And that's what happened. Kain let out a final loud yell of agony before a silver dragon tail with a small spade on the end suddenly sprouted out of his back. It wasn't covered in blood like most thought it would be, but more of a pus-like substance, like it was merely growing inside of Kain for some time. Rosa was freaked out while Cecil was just startled, and Kain, was tired, his pain gone though.   
  
"A tail?" Yang questioned, "What does this mean?" It seemed that no one had an answer, for all they did was stare at Kain's new tail. Kain was puffing slightly as he sat back upon his legs, though careful not to sit upon his newly acquired appendage.  
  
"It means..." Kain was slightly breathless, "That I'm not what I'm suppose to be."  
  
Cecil laughed nervously, "Come on, Kain, you're human just like us."  
  
"Human?" Kain's voice rose slightly with anger, "If I'm human then why do I have a fucking tail!?" Red flashed through Kain's icy blue eyes. Cecil noticed this and frowned, which Yang saw and suddenly smacked Kain in the back of the neck, knocking the Dragoon unconscious. Cecil caught him as he fell forward, then gently placed him upon the floor of the ship. Dark purple eyes looked up to Yang.   
  
"Go wake Cid, tell him what happened, then get us off the ground and in that mountain."  
  
Yang nodded and immediately dashed off. Cecil then turned to Rosa who was kneeling beside Kain's still form, a hand upon his back.  
  
"Don't worry, Rosa, everything will turn out ok."  
  
"How can you be so sure? Look at him, Cecil, he just grew a tail, what's going to come out of those other two lumps?" By this time, Rosa was crying softly. A small sigh escaped the Paladin as he bent down and gathered Rosa into his strong embrace.  
  
"Rosa, he'll be fine. We'll figure out what's happening to him. But...you need to stop worrying, you know it always makes you sick."  
  
The young woman pulled away slightly, just enough so her pink eyes could meet Cecil's purple ones.  
  
"He'll be ok?"  
  
A small smile graced Cecil, "Perfect."  
  
And that's when the airship lurched to life, Cid finally getting the large craft off the ground and towards the mountain. Cecil leaned his head down to Rosa's and gave her a quick kiss, then let go and stood.  
  
"I'm going to help Cid." Rosa nodded and watched Cecil leave then sat back with Kain, a sigh leaving her pink lips. The airship swiftly approached the mountain, but soon stopped and hovered just above a large hole, the bottom not visible. As the massive airship finally began to sink into the seemingly bottomless pit, Kain stirred lightly. Rosa looked down at him and just before all light faded, she noticed that the two lumps upon her shoulder blades were growing slightly. Then, darkness. Rosa felt Kain sit up, a strange glow surrounding him. The young woman blinked, trying to clear the darkness from her eyes. The glow was a reddish orange color, and was not coming from Kain, but seemed to be manifesting from below the ship.   
  
"Magma..." Cecil whispered, but his voice echoes hollowly off the cavernous walls.  
  
"We found the underground!" Cid exclaimed happily, and accidentally knocked the airship against the cavern wall.  
  
"Cid!" Rosa yelled in shock. A small smirk played upon Kain's lips as he stood, pulling Rosa up with him. Cecil noticed the two of them head towards Cid, and was about to join them, when a sudden burst of light forced the closure of his purple orbs. His eyes opened immediately when he heard Yang's shout.  
  
"This place is massive!" The airship drifted lightly out of the cave they had created in the mountain. The ground below was mostly covered in magma, but many mountains and hilly land were visible. 'How are we possibly going to find the Crystal's in here?' Cecil thought grimly. Rosa suddenly brightened his mood.  
  
"Look!" She pointed a slender finger out to the distance, "A castle!"  
  
The team's hopes to beat Golbez to the Crystals soared. Cid instantly turned the ship in the direction of Rosa's pointed finger, the strong stone structure immediately grew as they swiftly drew near. He set the ship down as gently as a feather falling on a pillow, then kindly ushered the passengers off. Upon entering the castle, a young girl, looking rather distraught immediately approached Rosa.  
  
"Have you seen my dolls?" Her voice quivered lightly as she spoke, but seemed to be unafraid of the humans before her since she was obviously a dwarf.   
  
"I'm sorry, honey." Rosa replied gently, "I haven't seen them." A light but sudden snarl made the dwarven girl take a step back. Kain stepped forward, annoyed.  
  
"Take us to the King, girl!"  
  
The young girl almost jumped in fright, turned and suddenly took off down a large corridor. Rosa frowned at Kain slightly. The Dragoon smirked and shrugged his shoulders, "What?"  
  
Cecil let out a small chuckle. The group soon found themselves infront of the throne room, and were about to enter when they were stopped by Cid.  
  
"I'm gonna head back up to the 'real' world, and make a few changes to the Enterprise, so it can last in this heat."  
  
"Are you sure?" asked Cecil, he didn't really want Cid to leave, he's a very reliable asset to their small team.  
  
"Yeah." Cid nodded, "I'll be back as soon as I can, I'll get Myth to help me, so it shouldn't take too long."  
  
Rosa reached out and gave Cid a gentle hug, which he promptly returned.  
  
"Take care, Cid."  
  
"You too, Rosa." With that, Cid left, and the remaining entered the throne room.  
  
"Greetings!" A voice came from directly infront of them. The King of the dwarves sat on a large throne, two guards on each side. The four humans bowed.  
  
"Your Majesty." Cecil addressed the King as he stood, "We are from the ground above where a very powerful man has stolen our four elemental Crystals. We are here only because we have reason to believe he is after your Dark Crystals which we have come to help you protect."  
  
The King sighed lightly, "We thank you for your offer, but you are too late."  
  
"How do you mean, your Majesty?" Cecil didn't appear shocked, but even though he expected this, he was stunned.  
  
"Two of our four Crystals have already fallen into the hands of that madman."  
  
"Where are the other two?" Rosa put in hastily.  
  
"Do not worry." The dwarf King smiled lightly at the young woman's concern, "They are in a safe place. One is in a sealed cave to the northwest, that only one sacred key will open, and the other is in a secret room behind my throne, which is heavily guarded as you can see."  
  
A frown upon Yang's face suddenly made Cecil look to him.  
  
"Yang?"  
  
The Karate Master's frown grew heavier, "There's evil nearby."   
  
The King stood suddenly. "That's impossible! No evil has been in this castle for hundreds of years. I have thousands of armed guards.!"  
  
Cecil glanced at Yang, then Rosa, but when he turned to Kain and saw the expression upon his best friend's face, the matter with the Crystal's completely disappeared.  
  
"Kain, are you ok?" Cecil took a step towards the scowling Dragoon.  
  
"I'm fine." Kain snapped harshly. Rosa could see the pain within his icy blue orbs.  
  
"It's your back, isn't it?"  
  
Just as Kain was about to snap at the white wizard, Yang suddenly shouted.  
  
"Enough!"  
  
Every one immediately placed their attention upon him.   
  
"We must get to the Crystal room."  
  
The King of dwarves believed their desire to protect the Crystal's to be true, and instantly ordered a guard to open the secret door. Yang was the first to run through. Kain was the last, and as soon as he was through the door, it suddenly slammed shut. The blue haired young man immediately tried to open it.  
  
"Locked." He said with a frown. A high-pitched laugh emitted from further in the room, startling the group into looking in that direction. A bunch of dolls stood infront of the Crystal suddenly animated by some unseen force.  
  
"Oh! Those dolls must belong to that girl!" Rosa exclaimed.  
  
"Possessed by Golbez!" Yang yelled with anger. The Karate Master was usually a very gentle and kind man with little or no hatred, but Golbez angered him, and brought forth Yang's untold strength. Cecil and Kain unsheathed their swords, as Rosa drew her bow and Yang too up a Karate stance. Rosa glanced to one side of her, to Kain and smiled lightly. It would be good to work with him for a change. To her other side, was her Knight in shinning armor, a serious frown upon his face. Rosa smiled. A yell startled her out of her trance as Yang suddenly jumped towards the dolls, a leg outstretched for a kick. The others took this as a sign to start and also joined in. Rosa stood slightly back from the battle since she fought with a bow and white magic which was only used for healing her allies for the time being. She watched Kain raise his sword high over his head and bring it down upon one doll, while Cecil sliced one across the stomach and Yang delivered a swift blow to the head on another. It was a short battle, for as Rosa loosed an arrow, it took down the final doll, striking it right between its beady eyes. The young woman quickly surveyed her teammates, lightly curing any small injuries. Kain appeared to be in the worst condition, but Rosa was unable to help. His injury was not from the battle with the dolls, but from the battle with his body.  
  
"That wasn't too bad." Cecil stated as he resheathed his sword.  
  
"Yes." Yang readily agreed, "The Crystal is still safe."  
  
A sinister laugh echoed throughout the room as a black figure materialized infront of the Crystal.  
  
"Golbez!" Cecil's sword was instantly in hand. Rosa's attention immediately went to Kain, wondering if Golbez wanted to enslave the Dragoon's mind as well as steal the Crystal. The four good guys immediately started to circle Golbez, blocking him from the Crystal. He laughed at their feeble attempt.  
  
"This is one Crystal you won't get, Golbez." Anger was traced throughout Cecil's voice, his dark purple eyes narrow. Golbez only laughed. His faced turned to Kain, then Golbez suddenly thrust his hands into the air. A bright light slashed through the darkness, Kain, Rosa, Cecil and Yang all collapsed upon the floor, their entire bodies unable to move, paralyzed. Death turned itself towards Cecil and raised a hand to him.  
  
"You will meddle no more."  
  
"Cecil!" Rosa screamed.  
  
Cecil stared up into the blackness of Golbez's being, the evil hand started to glow red as Cecil's life began to flash before his eyes, but he knew death would be swift. He closed his dark purple orbs and as he waited for the final blow, one sweet whisper left his soft lips.  
  
"Rosa..."  
  
His love screamed as the red light took over Cecil's body, too bright for anyone to watch. White mist started to flow through the air, turning the darkness white, but heavy. Golbez was just about to fully unleashed his wrath upon Cecil when a concentrated blast of mist and ice suddenly rammed into his black cloaked body. The blast sent him off balance but did not harm him at all. A soft sweet voice sang through the mist as the four paralyzed people began to glow.  
  
"You're all healed, guys, you can move now!"  
  
As they all gradually took position upon their feet, a large white dragon drifted out of the mist and as it landed, a young girl with green hair and bright green eyes jumped off the back of the great white beast. The mist dragon nuzzled the girl gently before dematerializing into the air, the mist leaving with the dragon. She took a place between Kain and Yang, small smile upon her lips as she spoke.   
  
"Alright guys, lets do this." The young woman reached to her right hip and pulled a whip from her belt, and cracked it loudly. Rosa smiled at the girl's spunk and pulled an arrow from her quiver. Cecil attacked first. The Paladin dived at Golbez' head on, sword held high and slashed at his enemies chest. And missed. He slashed again. And Missed. Golbez dodged blow to blow from Cecil's sword, making the young Paladin very frustrated. Kain quickly joined in, aiming a blow for the dark man's head. As soon as Golbez noticed Kain's advancement, he quickly punched Cecil out of the way, sending the Paladin sprawling onto the floor. While Golbez turned away, the young girl with the whip suddenly unleashed a spell.  
  
"Fire!" She yelled, thrusting her hands out infront of her body. The fairly large fireball smacked into Golbez' back, knocking him lightly off balance. Kain immediately took the opportunity and plunged his sword deep into Golbez' stomach. Unfortunately, the man in black recovered too quickly and the diamond blade only sliced through his side. Cecil had gotten back upon his feet as Golbez grabbed Kain and suddenly tossed him over to the side, the Dragoon crashing into the green haired girl. Cecil dashed towards Golbez as Kain and the girl fell to the floor in a heap, the Paladin raised his sword high and took a swing. Golbez easily jumped back, but something went wrong, they outsmarted him. As Golbez went backwards, Yang went forward, kicking Golbez square in the back, right onto Cecil's blade. When the Paladin stepped back, an arrow sliced through the air, piercing Golbez's black heart. Golbez fell to his knees as Kain hastily pushed the green eyed girl off his lap and sat kneeling upon the ground. The girl scowled lightly at Kain but stood and turned her eyes towards the main event. Golbez's body soon fell forward to the ground, but as soon as he struck the cold stone, his body disappeared, only his cloak remained. Golbez was gone and whether he was dead or not, the group did not know.  
  
"Woohoo!" The young girl suddenly exclaimed happily, a wide grin upon her face. The others looked at the girl with wonder, though Kain had his back to the group. Cecil, Rosa and Yang semi-circled the girl, Cecil asking the question on everyone's mind.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
A sigh and light laugh echoed through the Crystal room.  
  
"Silly Cecil...even though you're not a Dark Knight anymore, and have changed quite a bit, I still recognize you." Her smiled brightened at Cecil's puzzlement. Rosa was looking hard at the girl, recognition in the back of the white wizards mind. But when the young girl looked deep into Rosa's eyes, it suddenly hit her.  
  
"Rydia!" She yelled and suddenly embraced the Summoner. A smiled found Cecil's puzzled face while Yang looked about to cry./ They all took turns hugging her and welcoming her back./ All the happiness faded as the light in the room dissipated, only the warm glow of the Crystal remaining. A dark shadow soon covered the Crystal, the shape of the mass evident.  
  
"Shit!" Cecil yelled, diving forward.  
  
"Stop him!: Yang joined in, but they were too late. The mass loomed over the Crystal before sucking it into its very being, then disappeared. When the lights returned and Yang and Cecil turned back to join Rosa and Rydia, the whole Crystal ordeal was soon lost.  
  
"Kain!" Cecil shouted and suddenly ran to his best friend. The Dragoon was still upon the floor on his knees, though was in a great deal of pain. The two lumps upon his shoulder blades were throbbing and growing with life. Kain slammed both his fists into the floor in anger, breaking the stone and a few knuckles,. Cecil was immediately infront of Kain, kneeling down and lightly gripped the younger man's shoulders. The others were instantly gathered around the Dragoon, with the exception of Rydia who stayed a little ways back in wonder. Rosa went around behind Kain, and watched the lumps upon his back grow until they looked about ready to burst. Kain yelled in anger and pain, clenching his icy blue eyes shut as the skin upon his shoulder blades started to rip apart. Much to everyone's surprise, giant wings suddenly sprouted out of Kain's back, though one wing seemed to momentarily get stuck before spreading to its full length. Rosa fell back from surprise, a light scream escaping from her. Rydia on the other hand, was hit in the face by one of Kain's wings, knocking her down and leaving her with a bloody lip. Rosa sat up as Kain's wings went limp and the young man suddenly slouched down upon Cecil, unconscious. Yang ran over to Rydia and helped her up. The young Summoner thanked him as they walked over to the rest of the group. Cecil gently set Kain onto the floor on his stomach while Rosa sat down beside the two and gently placed her hand upon Kain's back lightly healing him. The white wizard stood and headed over to Rydia who was licking her bleeding lips. Rosa placed a soft, warm hand upon Rydia's cheek and cured her cut lip. The two young women sat down upon the floor with the rest of the group. Rosa lightly brushed away a stray strand of blue hair from Kain's face.  
  
"Cecil...what's happening to him?"  
  
The Paladin sighed lightly and shook his head.  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"Why did he suddenly grow wings and a tail?" Yang asked, his head hung low.  
  
"It looks as if..." Rydia put in lightly even though she barely knew anything about the situation, "...he's turning into a dragon..."  
  
Rosa's head snapped up, tears brimming in her pink eyes, "Do you think Golbez had something to do with this?"  
  
"There's no way Golbez would be able to do something like that. He would need dragon's blood, and you know that dragon's have been extinct for quite some time." Even though Cecil was telling this to Rosa, he was mostly trying to convince himself.  
  
"But Cecil..." Rosa cut in, "...Kain was perfectly healthy till he disappeared. When he came back to us, he had those lumps!" The young woman was very close to ears, her worry for Kain was becoming too intense to handle.  
  
"Maybe..." Rydia smiled lightly, "It was just something that happens to his race when he became a certain age."  
  
Rosa stood in anger. "Kain is human!" She screamed.  
  
Cecil hastily stood and pulled Rosa into his arms as she started sobbing. Yang and Rydia just looked away from the two, settling into an uncomfortable silence. A small groan brought everyone's eyes to the floor, to Kain. They watched in silence as the Dragoon sat up slightly, sitting upon his legs. Rosa suddenly pushed away from Cecil and dived onto Kain, landing upon his so hard that they were knocked onto the floor, Rosa hugging Kain tightly as she lay on top of him. Kain layed on his back, uncomfortably squishing his new wings as Rosa squeezed him to death. The Dragoon lay there, absolutely still until Cecil came up to them and eagerly pulled his girlfriend off his best friend, though smiled at the relieved look upon Kain's face. As Kain sat up, releasing the pressure upon his wings, Rydia reached a hand down to him. A small glare flashed upon Kain's face, and he gently batted away the young woman's hand, which won Kain his own glare, The young man stood and stretched, spreading his wings to there full length, then retracting them in slightly. He crossed his arms infront of his chest and held a slight glare. He was quite the impressive and imposing figure. Rydia stood with a frown, hands on her hips, not too happy with Kain rejecting her help.  
  
"Stubborn jerk...:" She mumbled lightly under her breath. However, Kain heard her mumbles and turned his glare in the Summoner's direction, but for the most part kept his cool.  
  
"Don't make me put you in your place, girl." He threatened lightly,. Rydia only smirked.  
  
"And don't make me kick your ass again."  
  
Rosa giggled lightly at Rydia swearing, which Cecil only smiled at the puzzled look that took over Kain's glare. 'Again?' he thought as he frowned, 'Have I met this arrogant girl before?' The Dragoon let his icy blue eyes wonder over Rydia's body. She was wearing black boot with bit, though very skinny heals, black leather pants and a black tank top which had almost transparent green sleeves that belled out at the end very widely. The green sleeves were slightly attached to her hands, held down each by a single gold ring upon her middle fingers. The young woman had bright green hair, styled very similar to his own, but longer and she also had equally bright green eyes. Her hair and eyes sparked a slightly reminder in Kain. 'But that can't be the same girl, she would still be a child...' His thoughts were left broken as an evil little smirk graced Rydia's lips. She slowly sauntered up to Kain and gently placed a warm hand upon his soft cheek  
  
"What's the matter, hun, can't remember my name?" she teased lightly. As soon as Kain's eyes narrowed, Cecil knew what was coming and took flight. While Rydia's hand came down, Kain's went up, but into a fist. Rydia took a step back, her eyes widening as Kain's fist went straight for her face. Cecil gently caught it, a frown upon the Paladin's face. Cecil and Kain stared at each other for long moments. Rydia had stumbled back in shock and was luckily steadied by Rosa. Yang merely watched everything, but his thoughts were on other things. Rosa looked deep into Rydia's eyes.  
  
"Are you ok?" The poor girl was obviously shaken up.  
  
Rydia nodded slightly, "But, why...did he?"  
  
Rosa gave Rydia a gentle hug, allowing her to give comfort and to whisper into her ear. "Kain was severally beaten as a child, so he hates physical contact. It also explains why he's so cold...but I'm sure he'll warm up to you." Rosa smiled lightly as her and Rydia parted, the two of them turned to look at Kain and Cecil. The two of them were talking very quietly, their voices unable to be heard by anyone else. Kain glared at the Paladin before him, the one fiercely gripping his fist.  
  
"Let go, Cecil."  
  
"You need to cool down a little first." Cecil's grip tightened.  
  
Kain's voice was threatening, his eyes very narrow. "Back off, Cecil." A hint of crimson flowed over the ice, and Cecil looked away. He gently released Kain's fist, but did not back away,. Rydia too this time to butt in, and pushed her way between the two men, though faced Kain.  
  
"Hi." She said quietly with a smile, "My name is Rydia. I'm the little girl who's life you saved in Mist."  
  
Blue eyes widened slightly for a moment until recognition set it, but doubt remained.  
  
"You're too old to be her." Kain stated firmly as he crossed his arms over his chest. Rydia smiled lightly and turned to address the whole group.  
  
"When Leviathan attacked our ship on the way to Baron, he sort of swallowed me and took me to the land of summoned monsters..."  
  
"Land of summoned monsters?" Rosa questioned.  
  
Rydia nodded, "Its where all the monsters live that we summoners use. Its actually here in the underground, that's how I was able to fine you guys so easily, Ashura told me that you were here..."  
  
"How exactly does summoning work?" Cecil interrupted.  
  
"The monsters that live down here that we summon are extremely powerful and have something that ordinary monsters don't. A soul. Basically when we summon a monster, we are asking them for assistance in a life threatening situation, If they deem the situation to be serious enough, they will come to our aid. In order for that to work, we summoners must send some of our energy to the monsters, which makes them strong enough to sent their soul energy up into out battles. Every time we send them out energy it makes their souls stronger."  
  
"You summoned your mother's dragon earlier..." Cecil dropped his head down. Rydia walked over to the Paladin and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I have gotten over her death, Cecil, Ashura and Leviathan taught me how to summon my mother's dragon by thinking about her...about the happy times we had together, and...the mist dragon was more than happy to help me out."  
  
Cecil brought h is head up and smiled. Kain scowled lightly.  
  
"You did not explain why you are older."  
  
Rydia turned to Kain and smiled, 'In the land of summoned monsters, time flows differently. My body in now about 16, however, I still have the mental capacity of a 12 yr old."  
  
"Sorry to interrupt the reunion..." Yang suddenly said, "But we really should be going after Golbez and the Crystals."  
  
Rosa nodded in agreement, "Lets go talk to the King."  
  
Kain was the first to leave, harshly kicking apart the previously locked door to the throne room. Yang and Rosa walked out together, chatting quietly. Just as Rydia was about to leave as well, Cecil grabbed her arm, stopping her. Rydia faced Cecil, and was suddenly embraced by the Paladin.  
  
"I'm glad we found you, Rydia."  
  
Rydia smiled as she hugged Cecil tightly, "What are you talking about, Cecil, I was on that found you guys..." 


End file.
